Any Other World
by DE92
Summary: Elena Gilbert's life changes in a single second. Damon Salvatore's life hasn't changed in five years. Two very different people from two very different backgrounds slowly start to realize that they have a lot more in common than they should. DE.
1. Chapter 1

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaires!**

 **Okay, so I'm back a lot sooner than I thought! After a couple of days debating back and forth in my head I've decided I'm going to give this story a shot. I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Elena**

"Elena, let me take you home." I hide my smile from my red plastic cup and shake my head. "You're killing me here."

"Sorry Liam, but I'm big enough to walk myself home." I lean back against his parked car with a smile. "Maybe next time." I hand him the now empty red cup and turn and walk further down the street. I smirk when I hear him call my name again but he thankfully doesn't come after me.

The guy is cute, but he is a little too eager for my liking. I only came to this party because my friend Liv pretty much forced me in to. She convinced me to come to try and impress Liam, but it didn't take me too long to figure out that it was Liam who was trying to impress _me_.

I make the short walk home because it really isn't that far, and I pray that my Mom and Dad are still asleep and hadn't noticed that I snuck out. It's three hours after my curfew and to make things worse, I didn't even tell that I was leaving the house tonight, instead I quietly crept down the stairs and slid out of the door without a word.

I turn the corner into my street and let out a breath of relief when I see the lights are all out.

Thank God for that.

I check my phone to see a couple of text messages already, one from Liam asking me to let him know when I'm home safe and the other two from Liv asking where I am and another of how things went with Liam.

I start to up my pathway when I almost go flying face first onto the ground. "Shoot," I bend down as I realize my shoe laces are loose and that almost caused my near accident. My knee hastily lands on the floor as I hurriedly tie them back up.

I stand up and that's when the loudest sound I have ever heard stings my ears. My body falls back, flying at least two feet into the air and I slam back against the hard pavement with a heavy thud.

I gasp, my body throbbing with pain. My head heavy. All I see is orange and red. I feel the heat and can smell the strong distinctive smell of heavy smoke.

And then I pass out.

* * *

Everyone is gone.

One tiny malfunction and a unsuspected gas leak and boom – my life literally blew up in front of my eyes.

Ten seconds.

Ten simple seconds and I would have been gone too. That's all it would have taken for me to disappear. Ten seconds to walk up our pathway, unlock the door and sneak back inside three hours after my curfew.

I think about what would have happened if I didn't stop to tie my shoe laces. I would have been inside of the house.

I would have been gone.

I regret every action, every word, every choice I made that night, including stopping to tie my shoe laces because what is the point of living now?

Everyone I loved was inside of that house – everyone who mattered.

"Elena?" I look up to see my social worker standing in the doorway, a sympathetic smile on her face as she looks at me up and down. "How are you feeling?"

"Peachy." I snap at her coldly before reminding myself that she is only trying to help. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She takes a seat next to me and I realize that I don't even know her name. I know that she told me, she introduced herself to me last night in the hospital but everything was a blur and it feels like it would be too late to ask her now. "I know it's a terrible time, and nobody should ever have to go through this, especially someone of your age."

I refrain from rolling my eyes. Nobody, regardless of their age, should have to witness their family literally blowing up into flames in front of their eyes.

"What happened was a terrible accident." The lady continues, clearly not reading my body language screaming out to her that I don't want to listen to this. "Your family didn't deserve it. I know your father well, he was a good man, a very good man."

I'm not all surprised that she knew my Dad, everyone in town knows him, he's one of the few doctors around here in our small town.

"You're not alone, Elena. Your Uncle and Aunt are on their way from Mystic Falls, they shouldn't be much longer."

A surge of panic hits my chest as I remember an earlier conversation we had when I had woken up in a hospital bed all alone. "Do I have to live with them?"

The social worker looks at me with what I can only describe as pity. "You're only sixteen, Elena."

"I don't want to live with them. I can live by myself. I want to stay here."

"Elena, sweetheart, you know that's not possible. They are your family, they love you."

"My family is dead." The words sound harsh coming from my mouth and suddenly I have the urge to throw up.

Oh god, they are dead.

They are dead.

I jump up to my feet and run towards the bathroom, emptying what little food was left in my stomach.

Nobody knows what to say me. It's been two weeks since the explosion and not a single part of me feels better. Nobody can help, how can they?

What can you say to the girl who lost her mother, father and brother all in one night?

* * *

"Are you sure you're not hungry, Elena?" My Aunt Isobel asks me gently. I can tell that she is nervous around me. She doesn't know how to act or what to say and part of me wants to make it easier for her but a bigger part just doesn't have the energy.

I shake my head silently as a silent no. Food is the last thing on my mind right now.

"You need to eat something." My Uncle John states almost coldly. I look up at him with a glare. The second he arrived at the hospital he pulled me into a stiff awkward hug, telling me that everything will be okay and that he was so sorry. Ever since then he has barely looked at me in the eye.

"I'm not hungry."

He shakes his head and goes to say something but I notice Isobel squeeze his arm tightly and he stops.

"Well, since you're not eating, we should probably leave soon. We need to go back to Mystic Falls."

I look up with wide eyes, my chest squeezing tightly. "Already?" I wheeze out in panic. The funeral was only yesterday. They want to take me away from my family right after I've buried them?

I can't. It's too soon. I'm not ready to leave.

"I'm sorry Elena but we have to. We can't stay here forever. Isobel has to get back to work and we can't leave Katherine on her own for much longer."

"This is my home." My voice shakes in protest. "My family are here. I can't leave yet."

"I'm so sorry, Elena." Isobel at least has the decency to look guilty.

"Elena, we've discussed this." John's voice is almost cold and it sends a shiver up my spine. I was never close with my Uncle, to be honest I rarely seen them growing up because they live in a different state. But this isn't the funny and kind man who we spent Thanksgiving with three years ago. "We're leaving for Mystic Falls tonight."

He walks out of the room without another word and I feel my eyes start to sting with tears.

Isobel looks at me sadly and presses her hand against my arm. "He's upset, Elena. He loved your father, they were brothers. He's lost his brother."

I look up at her sympathetic eyes and I feel my face harden.

"So have I."

* * *

I don't bother saying goodbye to my friends. What was the point? I blamed them.

I knew it was irrational, but that's how I feel. They were the ones who convinced me to sneak out that night, they were the ones who invited me to the party just to try and impress a boy who I've now realised I don't even care about.

They are the reason I wasn't in that house. They are the reason why I didn't die with my family like I was supposed too.

The drive to Mystic Falls was painful. John drove the whole five hour journey from my small town in North Carolina to their small town in Virginia and not one word escaped his stony mouth. For the first hour, Isobel tried her hardest to engage me in small talk but I was in no mood to entertain it and she eventually gave up.

Luckily, my social worker had gifted me with some headphones and an iPod so at least I didn't have to suffer in silence.

I stare out of the window as we drive through the town's main street. It's a small town, even smaller than the one I've came from and I can't shake the feeling of dread that runs coldly through my body.

It sits uncomfortably in my stomach, along with the feelings of loss, pain and heartache. I think of my family who I now feel even more estranged from with this new distance separating us.

When we pull up outside of the house that belongs to my Aunt and Uncle I know instantly that I don't belong here.

I don't think I will ever belong.

We go inside and I feel awkward as I hover in the hallway while John and Isobel unpack their things from the car.

I only have one backpack. I lost everything in the fire except from the clothes on my back. Isobel promised me she would take me shopping.

Honestly, I would rather her just give me some money and I'll go buy my own clothes myself.

"Katherine! We're home!" Isobel shouts up the stairs for my cousin and I instantly feel nervous.

Katherine and I are the same age, in fact, she's only a couple of months older than me. I haven't seen her since we were thirteen and honestly, it never bothered me much. We never had much in common back then and I doubt anything has changed now.

I hear a bit of commotion coming from upstairs but John and Isobel seem oblivious as they shake off their coats. Katherine appears soon after, her hair messy and her face flushed.

"Hey," she forces a fake smile as she comes down the stairs. I blink surprised at how much she has changed. She looks nothing like the thirteen year old version of herself that I remember. She's taller, slimmer and to be honest, she looks more like a woman than a teenage girl. There is something about her which oozes confidence and now not only do I feel awkward, but also slightly intimidated. "I didn't think you would be back so soon." She kisses John on the cheek and for the first time since they came to 'look after me' two weeks ago I see him smile.

"There wasn't much traffic." He replies softly, his gaze loving and I swallow hard because I recognise that look.

It was the exact same look my father used to give to me.

"Elena, hey." Katherine finally turns to me, a somewhat pitiful look on her face that sends a shiver up my spine. "I'm sorry about what happened."

I swallow and nod slowly. "Thank you.." I answer automatically. My body has been programmed to act in a certain manner now.

"Kat, why don't you take Elena up to her new bedroom?"

That sentence hits me hard. This is where I live now. My old bedroom is gone, it literally burnt up in flames. All of my childhood memories have turned to dust.

I have nothing left.

I swallow the lump in my throat and push back any tears threatening to fall.

I follow Katherine up the stairs in silence, she gives me a quick tour pointing out her parents room with their own en suite, her bedroom and the other bathroom which I realise she will now have to share with me.

I wonder how she feels about this – a near stranger coming to live in her home, interrupting her life.

She doesn't seem to mind much, but then again, she doesn't exactly seem pleased to see me either. I suppose there is nothing about this situation that is remotely pleasant, however there is something in her voice that puts me on edge.

We finally make it to what Katherine explains was previously the guest room, but is now 'my' room. I follow her in to the room and it's cold, and bland. The walls are white and the carpet grey and the double bed looks lonely in the middle.

This is nothing like my colourful room back home, full of pictures and memories and life.

"I'll leave you to get settled." Katherine says, briefly glancing down to my single backpack and then darting out of the room before I even have time to mutter a fake thank you.

I close the door after her and sit down on the lonely looking bed, my one bag resting at my feet.

My eyes sting with tears and I will myself not to cry because I feel like once I start I will never be able to stop.

I have never felt so alone in my entire life.

* * *

 **Ok so here was Elena's introduction. We will get to see Damon in the next chapter. This is going to be a DE story, but it's also going to be about friendship and family.**

 **Please let me know what you thought, if you guys want to read more? Don't be shy :)**

 **Thanks for reading, until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

 **I wanted to update this chapter quickly because I wanted to get both introductions in before I can officially start the story. Thank you to those who took the time to review the last chapter, it really is appreciated. This one is tor you...here's Damon's turn…**

* * *

 **Damon**

Katherine leans up and kisses me roughly as I thrust in and out of her. I pull back with a glare because she knows the rules - we only kiss when we're dating. Right now, we're not dating.

This is break up sex.

Katherine rolls her eyes and instead moves her lips to my neck before biting into my shoulder. I smile smugly as she holds back a scream and I can tell that she's about to cum.

That is until she rears her head back and looks over my shoulder. "Shit!" She pulls away from me and shoves me hard off her and before I even know what is happening she is off the bed and on her feet. "My parents are back!"

I frown confused and that's when I hear the sound of the front door opening. I hear her Mom shout out that they are home and Katherine throws my shirt at me in annoyance.

"Seriously?" I glare at her annoyed and motion down at myself. "Can't we at least finish? I'm still hard."

Katherine scoffs loudly. "I don't care." She rolls her eyes at me as she hurriedly throws on her clothes. "My orphan cousin is here and I have been told that I need to play nice." She mutters in annoyance.

"Right." I frown as I pull on my pants. "That sucks."

"Tell me about it," Katherine mutters back, her voice laced with annoyance. "My Mom has already made me clear out half my shelves in the bathroom for her."

"I meant it sucks about your cousin being an orphan." I look at her in disbelief but then I remind myself who it is I'm talking too.

Katherine Gilbert is the most selfish person I have ever met, and if you knew anything about my life, you would know how much of a bold statement that is to make.

"Whatever, Damon, you need to leave." She orders me sternly, motioning to the window. "Go on, go, get out."

I roll my eyes but follow her instructions. If I'm not going to get laid tonight then I really have no other reason to stay here anyway.

I climb down the trellis which luckily for me runs down the side of the house and jump down on to my feet. I run my hands along my jeans before edging around the side of house, pausing briefly when I see Katherine's Dad closing his car door.

I wait until he heads inside before I make my escape, knowing if John Gilbert caught me sneaking out of his daughters bedroom window again he would probably try to kick my ass, and as much as I would usually enjoy pissing him off, even I'm not that much of a bastard to intentionally wind him up after his brother has just died.

I unlock my bike which I deliberately left chained to a street light further down the road, and make the long ride back to my place across town. As soon as I enter the park I hear my name being called out from one or two people but I pretend not to hear them as I keep pedalling towards my trailer.

Yes, I live in a trailer park.

I dump my bike in the front yard and take a deep breath, about to walk inside when I hear my name being called again but this time it's from our neighbour, Mrs Stevens, a kind, gentle (also a little nosy) elderly lady who lives in the trailer next to ours.

"I have two little people watching cartoons on my couch who I think may belong to you." I hide my cringe because I know what that means.

I make the short walk to her trailer and move through the small metal gate that blocks her yard off from our own.

"Did they hijack the remote again?" I ask with a forced smile to match her kind one back at me. "Send them out, I'll take them to bed."

She shakes her head silently. "I don't think that's the best idea, to be honest, sweetheart."

I bite on my bottom lip and glance back to my trailer which is in complete darkness. "Was it bad?" I feel my palms start to sweat, my body tense.

She shakes her head with a sympathetic smile. "No. I just don't think it's a good idea for them to be there right now. They are so young, they don't need to see that."

I refrain from rolling my eyes and making a snarky comment about how that version of our father is the only version they have ever known. "They see it plenty." I say through gritted teeth. "The man is an asshole."

"He's your father." She tries to defend him to me but we both know that it is no use.

"He's an asshole." I repeat sternly and she sighs loudly. As kind and caring as Mrs Stevens is, she always has an excuse for my father. She was my Grandmother's best friend, she watched my father grow up, she loves him.

She has to defend him. She always has an excuse for him, a reason behind his behaviour. It annoys the hell out of me but I can't blame her for it.

"Would you like to come inside? I've got some supper leftover I can reheat for you?"

I shake my head. "No thank you. I should deal with that." I motion back to our trailer and she looks at me sympathetically.

"It'll get better, Damon. He just needs time."

This time I don't hold back my scoff. "It's been five years, Mrs Stevens, how much more time could he possibly need?"

"Grief is a funny thing."

"So is alcoholism." I snap back before making my way back to my trailer. I feel the metal gate unintentionally slam closed behind me with a loud thud but I don't turn back.

I open the door and my nostrils are immediately hit with the smell of smoke, stale beer and whiskey. I curse as I step on a piece of glass and bend down to see the remains of a smashed bottle at my feet.

My Dad is passed out on the couch, a bottle of whiskey clutched against his chest. The television light flashing across his rough features. I move through the cramped messy trailer and shut the TV off in annoyance. I pull the bottle from his hands and for a second I think he might wake up but instead he mutters something under his breath and goes back to laying still.

I glance towards my bedroom to see the door open, meaning my twin brother Stefan is thankfully not home. He's normally not very good at cleaning up after my Dad's mess. He gets upset, he gets mad. He hates this life, he hates this trailer, this park, this whole community.

He tends to try and stay as far away from our father as he can get for as long as possible.

I silently clean up the trailer, sending all of the broken glass and other trash lying around into the garbage can outside. This time Mrs Stevens is no longer sitting on her porch. I take a seat on the metal steps in front of me and look out into the park in front.

Honestly, growing up here never used to be so bad. There is a small sense of community here, despite all of the problems. My family have never had money, it wasn't until I started middle school when I realised just how little we actually had compared to my other classmates.

There's a handful of kids from this neighbourhood who go to our school, we are often referred to as the 'trailer trash kids' but somehow I get it a little easier compared to the others. I don't know if it's because I play basketball, or because I've dated a couple of the popular girls. Either way, despite my peers appreciation for my skills or my looks, in the back of everyone's mind I will always and forever be known as one of the trailer trash kids.

I've never known what it was like to live in a house with stairs, or to have my own bedroom. Our trailer was all I've ever known and I was fine with that. I was always outside playing basketball or other sports with the rest of the kids anyway.

It wasn't until six years ago when my life changed completely.

My mother gave birth to my younger siblings, twins, Lucas and Emma – it seems twins run in the family.

Suddenly our two bedroomed home which was cramped enough anyway was now even more of a squeeze. Who knew two tiny babies could take up so much space?

Unfortunately that the birth of my little brother and sister wasn't the terrible thing that happened. We adjusted to the change they made in our lives, Stefan and I shared a bedroom anyway, so the twins took my parents room and they moved to sleep on the pull out couch. It was cramped, it was difficult, but we managed.

A few months later my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer.

She joked that it was all of those cigarettes she smoked had finally caught up with her. Six months after she was diagnosed, she died.

My Dad who admittedly wasn't exactly the greatest father anyway, was now left with two pre-teen boys and two one year olds to look after and raise all on his own.

Which meant I had to grow up at the age of eleven.

Dad was always a big drinker, he was irresponsible but he got away with it because my Mom was always there to look after us and knew exactly how to look after him.

When she died he got worse and this time there was no one else to help. This time, it was Stefan and I who had to look after not only him, but our baby brother and sister too.

Two eleven year olds who had also just lost their mother.

I wanted to run away, in fact, Stefan and I even planned it one night. We were naïve really, we wanted to go to California and live on the beach but we were just kids who didn't know any better. Kids who just wanted out of this life.

So we packed our bags and even wrote our Dad a note to say goodbye.

We were about to walk out of the door, Dad was passed out in his arm chair drunk and there was nobody around to stop us – that was until Lucas started to cry.

Dad didn't even flinch as his screams soon woke Emma and then they were both wailing. I remember I turned to look at Stefan and in that moment that's when we both realised that we would never be able to leave.

We would never be able to escape this life.

We were trapped.

Five years later and nothing has changed.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for taking the time to read. The story is going to start properly from the next chapter, so please review and let me know what you all thought of Damon's introduction :)**

 **I'll be back soon with the next chapter soon!**

 **Until next time! Thanks :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries**

 **Hey guys, thanks for staying with me! Now it's time to get this story going...I hope you like it!**

* * *

It wasn't unusual for me these days to wake up in the morning and feel the sudden urge to throw up. However today was extra special, because today was my first day starting at Mystic Falls High.

I've only been in town for three weeks, but for the most part I managed to hide away in my bedroom to try and avoid any kind of human contact.

Today there was no avoiding the outside world. Summer is officially over. My family have only been dead for six weeks but apparently that is long enough for me to stop hiding in my bedroom sulking and time for me to get back in to the real world.

"Elena, sweetheart, it's almost time to go. Are you ready?" Isobel asks me through the closed bedroom door.

I want to reply saying no. No I am not ready. I am not ready to be the new girl, I am not ready to start my junior year in a new school. I am not ready to live this new unwanted life I have found myself forced in to.

"Yes. One second." Is what comes out instead. I hear Katherine in the bathroom, her music blaring out of her speakers as she sings along obnoxiously.

She is so carefree. I try to remember how that used to feel but instead all I feel is pain. I pull open the bedroom door and Isobel startles for a moment before offering me a sympathetic smile.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." She tries to reassure me but it doesn't work. "Katherine will be there to help show you around, won't you darling?"

"Sure." Katherine brushes past us and runs down the stairs and out of the door without another word. I swallow hard and I see Isobel watching me carefully and that puts me more on edge.

"Don't worry about her," she offers me gently. "She just hates the first day of school."

I nod slowly but don't give any other response, Isobel pats my arm and I take that as a sign that it's time to leave.

I don't bother saying goodbye to my Uncle John, he is probably locked away in his home office anyway. When I step outside, Katherine is already sitting in the front seat with her headphones plugged in to her ears and her eyes glued to her cellphone.

I sit in the backseat and we make the short drive to the school. I wonder why we couldn't just walk, it really isn't that far. When we arrive, Isobel wishes us both a good first day before driving away.

I'm surprised to see that Katherine has actually waited for me, and she motions with her head for me to follow her.

"Okay, so this is the quad." She waves her arm out around the crowded area. "That's the gym/sports hall," she points to a separate building across the parking lot. "Over there is the football field. They are really big on sports here." She explains as we walk through the crowds of people. It doesn't take me long to realize that Katherine is one of the popular kids, I hear many different people calling out her name to say hello. Some she acknowledges, others she doesn't even bother to spare a glance in their direction.

She clearly has all of the power.

"This is the main building, you'll have basically all of your classes in this building except for gym class and maybe health and sex ed. They are usually held in the sports hall. I'll take you to the principles office to collect your schedule." I follow her silently, trying my hardest to tell myself that the only reason people are staring is because they are looking at Katherine and not the new girl with the dead parents.

We walk into the reception area which is a little cooler than the rest of the school and I feel like I finally have a few seconds to breathe.

Katherine strolls confidently towards what I can only guess is the school secretary desk, a young rather pleasant looking young woman sitting behind the desk with a kind smile on her face.

"Hey Miss Sommers, this is my cousin Elena Gilbert, today is her first day. My Mom told me to bring her here."

"Of course," she looks at me over Katherine's shoulder. "Hi Elena, I'm Miss Sommers, it's nice to meet you." I'm surprised when she holds out her hand for me to shake. This would never have happened at my old school.

Not wanting to be rude, I shake her hand politely and offer her a small smile. "Nice to meet you too," I murmur quietly.

"Principle Lockwood is in a meeting at the moment but she told me to tell you to drop by tomorrow morning before class for an introductory meeting. In the meantime, here is your schedule." She hands me over a sheet of paper. "If you have any questions, please come and see me. I don't bite." She winks at me and for the first time since waking up this morning the nauseous feeling in my stomach stops. "No matter how small or silly you think it may be, this is what I'm here for." She hands me a small booklet. "This is just some information on the school, you know, activities, after-school clubs, that sort of thing." I take the booklet from her with a nod. "Your locker combination should be on the back of your schedule. I'm sure Katherine won't mind showing you to it?" She glances at my cousin who has been standing inspecting her nails.

She looks up at the sound of her name and it takes her a moment to realize this conversation now involves her.

"Sure." She answers simply and suddenly the nausea is back.

"Okay then," Miss Sommers claps her hand together. "I think that's everything. Like I said, if you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thank you." I smile back politely and Katherine turns on her heel and walks out of the room. I follow her, unsure if this is now where we part ways but after a few moments she falls back in to step with me and pulls my schedule out of my hands.

"Math with Mr Kelso first period, ouch." She grimaces. "I had him last semester, he's boring as hell."

"Great," I mutter quietly.

Katherine surprisingly offers me a small smile. "You'll be fine. Plus, you have Mr Saltzman for History, he's the best. Oh look, we share a few classes." She continues to eye my schedule but doesn't bother to let me know which of those classes it is that we share. "Mrs Benson for Biology, hmm, she's a little loopy. Mr Williams for Physics, also boring. Apart from that, I think it's okay." She hands me back my schedule and then stops, tugging on my arm. "This is your locker." She motions to the one of many blue lockers lining the halls and I immediately curse myself for not paying attention while we were walking because there is no way I will be able to remember how to get here again on my own.

"Hey Katherine!"

"I have to go." She briefly waves at whoever calls her name. "I'll see you around."

Just like that she is gone and I'm left standing alone at my locker surrounded by a bunch of faceless strangers with no idea what to do next.

* * *

"Hey, can you lend me ten bux." I look up to see Stefan standing beside me as I sit on one of the many picnic benches in the quad.

"You didn't come home last night." I state simply as I look back down to my phone.

I don't have to look back up to know that Stefan is rolling his eyes. "Whatever, can you lend me 10 bux or not?" He asks impatiently.

"Nope."

"Damon," he groans loudly and I look up to see my best friend Enzo watching us with an amused smirk on his face. "Stop being a dick."

"Stop being a slob and get a job."

"You know I can't get a job, football season is starting and I'd have to miss some practices."

"And basketball practice starts in a month for me. Speak to your coach, get a job." I reply bluntly. Stefan groans loudly and mutters about me being a dick again before storming off.

Enzo chuckles from across from me and I look up at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You could have just lent him the ten bux, you know how stressed he gets over football."

"He needs to get a job. I'm sick of playing the big brother when I'm only six minutes older than him." I huff in annoyance. "I've worked my ass off all summer while he trained and played football all day. I'm not doing it anymore."

"Fair enough." Enzo muses as we fall into a short silence. "How's things at home?" I immediately tense, despite Enzo being my only friend who truly knows how bad things are with my Dad, I still don't like to talk about it. Especially here at school.

"Same old."

"I saw your Dad this morning, you know? He was sitting in Jack's yard playing poker over a crate of beer," he informs me carefully, "at 7am."

Another reason Enzo is so much in the know is because he is also lives in our trailer park. His trailer is just a few down from mine, so there is no hiding from him.

"Well that'll explain why he also didn't come home last night." I mutter but honestly I'm glad. I'd rather him be out drinking all night across the street in our neighbours yard over him sitting drinking alone in our trailer with Lucas and Emma around.

"You should tell someone." Enzo says seriously. "You should tell Miss Sommers, or the principle…or one of Luke and Emma's teachers. They would be able to help."

I scoff and shake my head. "Help? No way. They would take them away from us, they would separate us. There is no way in hell I am letting Lucas and Emma grow up in some foster home. No way. Look, I've got this, okay? And I know Stefan can be a whiny selfish dick sometimes but he helps take care of them. It's the only thing other than football that he is actually good at. We've got this." My tone is harsh but I don't care. There is no way in hell I am losing my little brother and sister and that is exactly what will happen if people find out the truth about my Dad.

"Okay, fine." Enzo holds his hands up in defeat. I clench my jaw but luckily the moment is broken when our friends Klaus and Marcel appear out of nowhere and pull us both into headlocks.

* * *

"Hey, you're Elena, right?" I look up from my book surprised to see a girl with dark hair looking at me with a sweet smile on her face. I nod silently. "My name is Bonnie, nice to meet you." Again just like Miss Sommers she reaches her hand out for me to shake and again I do, politely.

"Hi." I force a smile back, realizing that I probably should try and actually make friends here. I have spent my first two classes sitting quietly with my head down, avoiding all eye contact and conversation with my peers.

"So I heard a rumour that you're related to Katherine Gilbert, is that true?" She asks quietly as the teacher sits at the front. We are all supposed to be silently reading but Bonnie isn't the only one in the class talking.

The teacher doesn't seem to care much.

"Yep, she's my cousin." I reply, waiting for the 'oh my god, that's crazy. I love Katherine.' Response that I have received a few times already this morning from the very few people who have tried to talk to me.

"Ouch. Unlucky you." My head shoots up and I look at her surprised. She cringes. "Sorry…I shouldn't have said that…she's your family…"

"No." I shake my head, quickly waving her off and smiling my first genuine smile of the day. "That's okay."

It's not that Katherine has been a bitch to me or anything, she hasn't, but she hasn't exactly been welcoming to me either.

Cold and distant would be two words I would use to describe her.

"I kind of assumed everyone loved her…she seems so…popular."

"Yep, that's Katherine for you." Bonnie rolls her eyes. "My best friend Caroline is her friend, they are both on the cheer squad, but honestly, I have no time for the girl. I think she's a bitch." She realises again who she is talking too. "Sorry." I smile and shake my head, reminding her that it's okay. "If it helps, she doesn't like me all that much either."

I don't see why not. Bonnie is the first person I have met today who actually seems somewhat decent. I don't know what it is about this school, this town even, but everyone just seems so fake.

"Probably because I'm a trailer trash kid."

I practically choke on air and look at her bemused. "A _what_?"

"A trailer trash kid." Bonnie looks amused by my expression. "It's what they call us mere peasants who live in the trailer parks across town."

My jaw drops in shock. "That's awful."

Bonnie shrugs casually like it's not a big deal. "You're new to town. You'll learn soon enough how backwards this place is, you're either really really rich or really really poor. There is no in-between."

I think briefly to the big and spacious four bedroomed house that Katherine lives in and it doesn't take me long to figure out what category they fall into. I wonder if I'm automatically placed with the rich kids because I now live in their big house.

I wonder if they'll know that I have literally lost everything.

I have nothing now.

I push back those thoughts and turn my attention back to Bonnie. "That's still awful." I repeat, shocked that this sort of thing exists right now. We're supposed to be moving forward but it seems to me already that this town is at a standstill.

"You'll get used to it. It doesn't bother me. It won't bother you either after a while of living here and going to this school. You'll get sucked straight in to our small town politics."

"I used to live in a small town, and I promise you it was nothing like this."

Bonnie smiles a knowing smile. "This is Mystic Falls, it's a different kind of world here and nothing will ever change.."

* * *

I take a deep breath, my palms sweating and my hands shaking as I head towards the cafeteria. I can hear the loud noise of chatter and laughter all the way from the hallway and that only makes it even more intimidating.

I suck it up, reminding myself that it's not that scary. Nothing bad is going to happen.

I can do this.

I have been through a hell of a lot worse than lunch in a high school cafeteria.

I spot Katherine immediately, she is sitting at a large table with a crowd surrounding her, a mix of both boys and girls, clearly the popular kids of the school. Our eyes catch for a brief moment before she looks away and I realize that means she doesn't want me to come over.

I'm honestly okay with that.

I wait in line and pick a standard meal and when I turn back around my face starts to heat up again. This hall is huge, twice the size of the cafeteria in my old school.

I look around with my eyes, trying not to look too much out of place as I slowly walk through the spaces between the crowded table, praying there will be a spare one before I end up running to the bathrooms and eating lunch in the stall like the pathetic person I feel myself turning into.

"Elena!" I feel my shoulders sag in relief when I turn to see Bonnie standing at a table, waving me over with a welcoming smile.

"Hey," I approach her, still somewhat nervous and hesitantly. Just because she's saying hello, does not mean she wants me to join her and her friends for lunch.

"Come sit with us." She motions to an empty seat beside her and I set my tray down in relief. "Everyone, this is Elena, Elena this is everyone." The group all greets me with welcoming smiles and I feel myself finally starting to relax.

"So, Elena, how are you finding your first day?" A guy who I learned was called Matt asks me with a kind smile. He's cute, blonde hair, blue eyes, plays football. He's _that_ guy.

"Fine." I reply simply before I remember I'm the one who has to make the effort here. They already have their friends, I'm the one who needs to impress. "It's a lot bigger than my old school. I've gotten lost a couple of times."

Matt nods in agreement. "It's the only high school in town, so everyone goes here." He explains but I'm still surprised because I honestly didn't think this town was even big enough to have a school this size packed with so many students. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Are you single?" A dark haired guy with a cocky smile asks me.

"Tyler!" The blonde girl next to him shrieks and punches him in the arm. "Ignore him, he's an ass." She looks at me with a smile and I slowly return it.

"What do you care? You're dating Klaus now."

"I am _not_ dating Klaus." The girl scowls before turning to face me. "Tyler is my _ex_ , my very _bitter_ ex." She glares at him and Tyler rolls his eyes. "My name is Caroline, nice to meet you."

Caroline. Bonnie's best friend. Bonnie's best friend who is also friends with Katherine.

"You're Kat's cousin, right?" She asks after a moment and I nod. I see the pity and sympathy flash in her eyes and I realize that she knows the reason I'm here. It only lasts a minute but it's enough.

I wonder if everyone else knows too or if it's just something that only Katherine's friends are aware of?

Bonnie didn't mention anything, but then again it's not exactly a topic that people find easy to bring up. 'Oh hey, you're the orphan who lost her entire family in a house fire. Nice to meet you'.

"Do you like cheerleading?" Caroline asks, clearly reading my face and quickly changing the subject.

Bonnie groans loudly. "Leave her alone, Caroline. Too soon, give the girl one day here before trying to recruit her."

Caroline glares at her friend before looking back at me. "Try outs are next week, you should come. Katherine is the captain, I'm sure she would love to have you."

I doubt that.

"I actually used to cheer in my old school." I reluctantly confess, immediately regretting it when I see Caroline's eyes light up, "but I don't think I'm going to continue here."

"No you should!" Caroline sounds somewhat excited and I see Bonnie mouth 'sorry' at me and I hide my smile. "It's great to cheer here, we have lots of sports teams. Football, basketball, they all get great crowds."

"Especially the football." Matt winks at me, reminding me that he is on the team.

"I'll think about it." I offer, hoping that the subject will be dropped. Thankfully, Bonnie starts up another topic and I surprisingly fall into the conversion fairly easily.

It doesn't take me long to realize that I like this small group. Even Tyler, who I thought was a bit obnoxious at first has his good points so far.

I briefly wonder why Caroline isn't sitting with Katherine and the rest of the cheer squad but I decide not to bring it up. Especially since Bonnie made it very clear that she is not a fan of my cousin.

The rest of the day seems to go by without a hitch. I even found myself in classes with Matt, Caroline and another one with Bonnie on the afternoon which was nice. They all waved me over to sit with them and at least I no longer have to worry so much about making friends.

I try not to think about my parents and Jeremy too much. This is a fresh start and I don't want to be known as the girl who lost everything.

Bonnie said this town is full of fake people. Maybe I'll fit right in, I'm fairly good at pretending.

* * *

When I get home, I sit around the table with John and Isobel for dinner, I notice Katherine is missing but then Isobel briefly mentions that she is out with friends.

Maybe tomorrow I'll ask Bonnie if she wants to hang out after school, just to avoid the awkwardness of having to sit through this 'family' dinner again.

As soon as I am excused I head straight upstairs and lock myself in my bedroom. I stay there for hours, reading my book and browsing on my new laptop which Isobel bought me as a pity gift. I add Bonnie, Caroline, Matt and Tyler on Facebook and almost immediately I receive a message from Matt.

We chat for an hour or so, mostly about school, and places in town I need to visit and different restaurants to eat in.

It's nice.

I don't realize the time but my eyes start to strain reminding me that I should probably call it a night. I change in to my PJs before heading towards the bathroom. I flick on the light and curse when the room remains in darkness. Katherine mentioned that sometimes the light switch doesn't work.

I don't bother trying to call my Uncle John to come and fix it, and instead I leave the door slightly ajar to let some light in and continue with my nightly routine.

I finish brushing my teeth and start washing my face.

"Cute PJs." I almost shriek and swing around to see a guy who looks about the same age as me standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face.

He is only in his underwear and for a second I wonder if Isobel and John had a son I didn't know about.

I hope not because my eyes unintentionally trail over his toned body before looking back up to his smirking face. His bright blue eyes are watching me intently and my heart beat won't calm down.

"Sorry," he steps further into the room and pushes the door back closed so we are almost in darkness again. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Who are you?" I wheeze out, still shocked.

There is a hot half naked guy in my bathroom.

"I'm Damon, I'm a friend of Katherine's. You must be Elena." He takes a step closer and holds out his hand.

I snap out of my trance and slowly slide my own into his and I suck in a breath when he lifts my hand to press a soft kiss against my knuckles.

"Nice to meet you." He winks at me and I thank God that it is dark in here so he can't see my embarrassing blush.

I quickly pull my hand from his grasp. "I uh…I should uh…bye." I brush past him quickly and practically run back into my bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me.

I lean back against it and let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding, immediately cursing myself for being so pathetic and embarrassing.

It takes me an extra minute or so to realize the reason why Damon was standing half naked in our bathroom. He is a _friend_ of Katherine and we all know what that means.

I shake my head and head in to bed, trying to ignore the bright blue eyes fighting to get in to my subconscious.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! And thank you so much for those who reviewed the first 2 chapters it really does mean a lot :)**

 **Don't be shy, drop a review and let me know what you thought of this one. This story is going to be a little different than to what I'm used to writing, you'll probably notice more as it progresses - I'll not say anything more because I don't want to give anything away.**

 **See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

 **Big thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, followed the last chapter! :) Hope you like this one:**

* * *

I walk back into Katherine's bedroom with a grin on my face, suddenly I'm feeling in a very good mood.

Katherine looks up at me from the bed as she puts on her bra. "Are you still here?" She asks me coldly and I roll my eyes before my lips twitch in to a smirk.

"Your cousin is cute."

" _What_?" Katherine gawks at me in disbelief but before I can say anything else she waves me off. "No you know what, I don't care. You can leave now." She throws on a shirt and motions towards the window.

"You know Katherine," I begin as I pull on my jeans. "I'm starting to feel very used by you. I thought what we had was special." I continue mockingly as I look for my shirt, my voice dripping with obvious sarcasm.

"You're an ass." She glares at me while throwing my t-shirt at me. I catch it against my chest. "This is the last time, you hear me?"

"You said that on Saturday night too."

"You're a jerk." Katherine jumps to her feet and shoves me back towards the window. "You're a jerk who _cheated_ on me with a skank so you are so god damn lucky that I am _letting_ you be used by me." She shoves me again and I roll my eyes. "I could have ruined you, Damon. Just like you ruined me."

"I didn't ruin you."

"Yes you did. I trusted you."

"Oh like you were so perfect."

"At least I never cheated." She snaps back harshly and I sigh loudly.

"Look, I made a mistake. It was months ago…I thought you had forgiven me."

"I'll never forgive you." She looks me dead in the eye and even I can't help but feel a little intimidated by her intense glare. I can see why the majority of the girls in school are afraid of her.

"Well maybe you should." I zip up my jeans and slide on my shoes. "Or at least you should stop sleeping with me until you get over it."

"Get. Out." She hisses at me and shoves me one last time. I hop out of the window, and climb down the trellis. I hear Katherine slam her window shut after me and I run my hand through my hair in frustration.

I swear that girl just likes to mess with my head. She was the one who called me, she was the one who initiates everything between us.

"Salvatore."

I freeze, slowly turning around to come face to face with Katherine's Dad, John. He is glaring at me, for obvious reasons.

"It's not what it looks like?" I try my hardest to be humorous but John doesn't bite. "Sorry. I'm leaving." I go to walk past him but he reaches his hand out and grabs my arm in a vice grip.

"Listen to me son, you stay the hell away from my daughter." He snarls into my face and even I have to admit that he is intimidating. I see where Katherine gets her temper from now. "I don't want to see you around here again, you here me? Stay in your side of town."

I snatch my arm out of his grasp angrily at his comment, another reminder that despite how well I may or may not have treated Katherine when we were dating, her parents would never have accepted me anyway because of my zip code.

Trailer trash.

"Noted." I hiss back angrily and walk away without turning back.

The journey home is a nightmare, the chain on my bike falls off twice and I end up having to push it all the way home. As soon as I turn into the cul-de-sac where my trailer lays, I see the lights on and I silently curse because that means the asshole is awake and I'm not in the mood tonight.

I drop my bike angrily in the yard and open the door, my Dad is smoking on the couch, a bottle of beer in his hands.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to smoke in here?" I snarl at him coldly as I shut the door behind me. I quickly peek into the twins' room, thankful that they are both flat out asleep.

"Fuck off, Damon." My Dad snaps back in a vicious tone. "I'm your father, talk to me with some respect."

"Maybe I will, when you start acting like one." I pick up an empty beer can and throw it in the trash. "Look at you, you're pathetic."

He makes a move to stand up but his legs are unstable. "Now you listen here!" He almost falls back on the couch and I roll my eyes.

"Pathetic."

"You little bastard!" He charges at me, but because he is so drunk, all I have to is twist my body and he goes lunging past me. His arms fly out in front of him, knocking clutter off the kitchen bench as he goes crashing to the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" Stefan appears from our bedroom and looks at our father slumped on the floor before looking back up at me with a glare. "Why can't you just go straight to bed, huh?"

I shrug as I watch Stefan bend down to try and help our Dad up. "Don't bother, leave him down there where he belongs."

"Get the fuck out, Damon!" My Dad shouts at me furiously, his words slurred. "I mean it!"

"Damon?" We all freeze and I turn to other door where Lucas and Emma are standing. Lucas in front, Emma a few steps behind clutching her teddy.

I glare at my Dad as Stefan glares at me and I push past them both. "Hey," I gently press my hand against Luke's shoulder and push them back into the bedroom, closing the door softly behind me. "Come on guys, lets get you both back to bed."

"Were you and Dad fighting again?" Luke asks me curiously as he climbs back into his bed. I gently cover him with his quilt before doing to the same with Emma. I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead, smiling when her lips twitch in her own sweet smile.

"We weren't fighting. Dad is just tired." I head back over to him as he still stays sitting up.

"He's drunk." Luke replies and I inwardly curse because he is far too smart for a six year old. "He's always drunk."

"He's just Dad, okay?" I force a smile. "He loves you, he loves you both." I turn back to Emma and offer her another soft smile. "We all love you."

"Promise you and Daddy will stop fighting." I barely hear Emma but her soft voice carries across the quiet tiny room. "I don't like it when you fight."

I know it will never stop but the lie falls off my lips anyway. "I promise." I turn back to Luke and point somewhat sternly at him. "Sleep." I order him with a smirk.

He finally lies down and I tuck him in before going back to Emma. "Sweet dreams, princess." I brush some of her dark hair from her face with a smile. She looks just like my Mom.

"Night buddy," I nod at Luke before leaving the room and closing the door gently behind me. The first thing I see is Stefan crouched down cleaning up the mess that was just made.

I notice the room is now empty. "Where is he?" I ask coldly.

Stefan stands up and throws some of the clutter into the trash. "He headed out. I figured it would be best not to follow." I nod silently. "You know how he gets, Damon, why couldn't you just leave it?" He looks tired.

"I'm sorry." I offer but I'm still too wired up and angry to mean it. "He just pisses me off."

"He pisses me off too, but Lucas and Emma don't deserve to be around us all fighting. It's bad enough as it is."

Now I feel guilty.

"I know," I run my hand through my hair. "I'm sorry. They don't deserve any of this. You're right, next time I'll just try and ignore him for their sake."

I know that it's easier said than done, and I know that Stefan knows it too. Sometimes I just can't help myself and tonight was certainly one of those times.

"I'm going to bed." I brush past Stefan into our tiny room which barely fits our two single beds. "You coming?"

"Yeah." Stefan nods. "I'm just going to clean up a bit in here. I'm going to lock the door, Dad can stay on Jack's couch or with Mrs Stevens."

It's not the first time we have locked our own father out of our home. Trust me, sometimes it is for the best, and it's not like we leave him with nowhere to go. Mrs Stevens always takes him in, otherwise he'll spend the night across the street on the couch of his drinking buddy Jack (who lives in the trailer next door to Enzo – ergo, my best friend knowing all about our fucked up father).

I throw off my shirt and take off my jeans, sliding some comfortable shorts over my legs before landing onto my old worn mattress.

Two more years, I try to tell myself. I'll finish school, get a full-time job and then my own place. I'll take Lucas and Emma and they'll live with me and Stefan can get his full football scholarship to take him to whatever college he wants and then hopefully earns enough money to get them out of this mess.

Two more years.

* * *

"Elena, hey, wait up!"

I stop in the hallway and see Matt jogging towards me with a smile. "Hey," he greets me again when he falls into a walk alongside me. "You have history with Saltzman now, right?"

I don't know how he knows but I nod my head with a smile. "I sure do."

"Me too," he grins. "I'll walk you."

I don't say no because honestly I don't want to run the risk of getting lost again. Katherine left me this morning the second her Mom stopped the car, she didn't bother to wait again. I had to stop by the Principle's office briefly for my 'introduction meeting' which to be honest was a load of crap.

Principle Lockwood offered me her condolences about my family and just like Miss Sommers she told me to stop by her office if I ever needed anything but I knew straight away that this time it wasn't a real or sincere offer.

Matt leads me in to a classroom I am guessing is history and my smile widens when I see Bonnie and Caroline are also in this class. I take the spare seats in front of them, Matt sitting next to me, that boyish grin still on his face.

"Good morning students!" A tall fair haired man strolls into the room casually.

"Morning Mr Saltzman!" Most of the class reply cheerfully which surprises me. It's not normally the response teachers get from their students but something tells me already that this guy is different.

"Here we go another semester." He looks down at his register. "Elena Gilbert?" I freeze when he reads my name out, his eyes darting across the room before they land on mine.

I slowly raise my hand but I am quickly relaxed by his kind soothing smile.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls High, and welcome to my class. I'm sure you will love it here." His eyes are soft, welcoming and I know that he genuinely means his words.

I smile a genuine smile back. "Thank you."

He nods at me before he turns around and writes something on the board in chalk. "Let's get started then shall we." He swings back around and glances back down at his register. "I see we're missing one." As soon as he finishes speaking, like magic the door opens and my eyes widen when I see that it's Damon from last night.

He strolls into the room like he owns the place and I can feel my face heating up. Oh my god. His eyes are just as blue in daylight.

"Mr Salvatore, nice of you to join us."

Damon smirks as he stops at the front of the class. "Mr Saltzman, thank you for having me in your class. Sorry I'm late."

"First warning of the year Damon, take your seat." They share a knowing smile and Damon turns to walk to his desk, I see his eyes glance around the room before they land on mine. They widen for a split second before his smirk reappears and I quickly turn away from his intense gaze.

I blow some air out from my lips and look down at my blank notepad, willing myself to concentrate because I think I'm going to really enjoy this class.

* * *

"What's up trailer trash?"

I tense when I hear _that_ voice as I grip the ball tightly in my hands. I ignore him for a second before taking the shot, watching as the ball flies confidently into the net.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks." I snap back coldly, turning around to see Mason Lockwood standing across the court with a smirk.

"Keep going though, you are going to need all of the practice you can get if you think you're taking my spot on this team."

I let out a fake laugh as I bounce the ball effortlessly in front of me. "My spot." I correct him. "It's my spot. Let's just wait and see huh?"

Mason shrugs as he approaches me, taking the ball out of my hands and making the shot in one.

"I'm a senior, coach is going to play me over you this season."

"We'll see." I hiss through gritted teeth.

Mason Lockwood has been my nemesis for as long as I can remember. We both play shooting guard and ever since we were kids we were pitted against each other. It wasn't until high school when we inevitably ended up playing on the same team when the rivalry turned into hatred.

Mason is a year older than me, therefore he feels entitled to play over me. Our coach would often chop and change us, subbing us for each other, taking turns to start us but through every game it got more intense. We both wanted to play all of the time. I didn't want to share my spot and Mason didn't want too either. It doesn't help me that his Aunt is also the Principle of the school and his Uncle is the Mayor of the town so he automatically had an unfair advantage.

Our coach is fair enough but sometimes I know he has to listen to those high above, but I've trained all summer and I'm ready for another fight.

It's my spot.

"You've already missed two practices and the season hasn't even started yet." Mason taunts me as he takes another shot.

"Coach gave me permission. It doesn't mean I haven't been working hard in my own time." I reply in annoyance as I snatch the ball back from his hands and make my own shot.

Mason's right, I have missed practice. It's what happened last season too but I didn't have any other choice in the matter. I'm working two jobs and I have Lucas and Emma to take care of, Coach Saltzman (yes also our history teacher) understands that I have other commitments which sometimes have to come first.

A guy like Mason who has lived his entire life so far with a golden spoon hanging out of his mouth would never understand what that feels like.

The guy is a rich spoiled asshole and he knows it. He brags about it. He taunts people about it.

Mason Lockwood is one of the main reasons why I hate this damn town.

* * *

"I think Matt likes you." Caroline whispers into my ear as we sit at lunch. My eyes widen and I turn to face her in disbelief.

"We've known each other for two days, he doesn't like me." I look at her like she's crazy.

Caroline shakes her head. "No trust me, I always know these things. You guys will be dating by Christmas." She tells me confidently. I roll my eyes at her prediction because she is being ridiculous.

Yes, Matt is hot and cute and usually he would absolutely be my type but I'm not exactly feeling like dating at the moment. Boys are the last thing I am interested in right now.

I like Matt, but as a _friend_.

"Where's Bonnie today?" I ask changing the subject and luckily Caroline bites.

"Urgh," she pulls a face. "She's having lunch with _Enzo_."

"Who's Enzo?" I ask amused by her face, plus, what kind of name is Enzo?

"Her boyfriend," Caroline rolls her eyes. "He's an ass, but Bonnie is in love and she doesn't see it. She's way to good for him."

"I like Enzo." Matt joins in the conversation and I pray that he never heard the start about him liking me. "He's a cool guy, the only decent one out of those guys anyway."

Caroline pulls a face but then sort of nods in agreement. "True."

"Oh come on," Tyler suddenly joins in. "We all know you have a soft spot for Klaus." He says with a bit of bark to his tone and I shift awkwardly in my seat.

"How many times do I need to tell you, Tyler, there is nothing going on between Klaus and I."

"Right, whatever." Tyler rolls his eyes. "We both know he is the reason we broke up."

I glance at Matt who cringes and pulls a face at me. I try to hide my smile and look back down at my empty plate in front of me as Caroline and Tyler's little spat continues.

"No we broke up because you were being a jealous asshole!"

"You kissed him!"

"No, no!" Caroline practically shoves her finger into Tyler's chest. "We kissed after _we_ broke up and I already apologised about that. I was drunk, it was a stupid mistake."

"Whatever." Tyler mutters coldly. "I don't care anyway."

"Yes, clearly." Caroline huffs before standing up. "I have a cheer meeting, I'll see _you_ later Elena." She forces a smile before storming away, making a point to not say goodbye to any of the boys.

"Ouch," Matt whistles and I hold back a smile, feeling bad for finding the situation a little amusing. "Who knew a conversation about Bonnie and her boyfriend could turn into a fight about you, Caroline and Klaus."

"The girl just needs to accept the fact that she was in the wrong." Tyler shrugs stubbornly and I realise they are both as bad as each other. "It's not my fault she can't admit she likes him."

"The guy is a dick. There is no way she seriously wants to be with him." Matt reassures him before looking at my blank face. "You have no idea what we are talking about, do you?"

"Nope." I smile but it's nothing new. Two days in and already there are names creeping up who I wouldn't be able to match up to faces.

"It's probably for the best." Tyler tells me. "In fact, if you ever meet anyone with the surname Mikaelson, stay away. They are all jerks."

"Rebekah's not that bad." Matt chuckles and Tyler turns to face him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's only because she let you have sex with her."

I choke on my drink, my hand covering my mouth as Matt's jaw drops. "Dude! Seriously!" He hisses at him and I let out a small giggle.

"It's a good enough reason." I smile and nudge him playfully. Matt shakes his head, clearly feeling a little annoyed that this information has come out in front of me and I wonder if maybe Caroline was right.

"Whatever." He huffs in annoyance and my smile falters slightly. I look over at Tyler who has a knowing smile on his face.

"Lighten up, dude." Tyler rolls his eyes.

"I have to go, I've got practice." He stands up and heads out of the cafeteria and I look across at Tyler who sends me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry for scaring everyone away." He offers lightly.

I smile. "It's okay." I let out a small laugh. "Won't you have practice too?"

Tyler nods. "Yup, but I figured Matt doesn't want me to join him." He moves to his feet. "I'll see you around." He pats my shoulder before heading out into the crowd and I realize that I have been left on my own.

I pull out my cellphone and check Facebook. I see I have a message from both Liv and Liam from home and I immediately close it. They have tried a few times to reach out to me since the accident but I haven't responded.

I can't think about that part of my life anymore.

"A girl as beautiful as you shouldn't be having lunch alone." I look up to see none other than Damon slide into the seat evacuated by Caroline in front of me. "Hi." He smirks at me and I immediately feel on edge by his intense gaze.

His eyes are _so_ blue.

"Hi…"

Damon chuckles at my lack of response and for some reason it pisses me off. "Don't you have your own friends you can sit with?" I snap.

"Don't you?" Damon fires back and my scowl tightens. "What? Don't look at me like that, I'm trying to be friendly here and you're killing me off already."

"I didn't ask you to try and be friendly." I hit back coldly. Honestly, I don't know why I'm being such a bitch. Damon hasn't actually done anything wrong to me, but there is just _something_ about him that gets my blood riled up.

"Oh come on, don't be snappy at me. You saw me naked."

"Half naked." I correct him in annoyance. "Speaking of, why aren't you sitting with Katherine?"

Damon lets out an amused laugh. "Katherine hates me."

"She clearly didn't hate you last night."

"Are you jealous?" Damon asks me with a Cheshire smile that just makes me want to punch him in the face.

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I barely know you, and what little I do know, I don't think I like very much." I fire back quickly, trying to bring him down a peg or two.

Damon shrugs with that stupid smirk back on his face. "I don't know, I'm just trying to think of a reason why you wouldn't like me."

"I can't think of a single reason why anyone _would_ like you, Damon." I feel my body tense as Katherine appears behind Damon, a stony look on her face that literally sends a shiver up my spine. "What are you doing?" She asks him coldly. Her icy gaze lands on me for a split second before turning back to Damon.

"What does it look like?" He motions to his untouched salad in front of him. "I'm trying to have lunch."

"Leave her alone." She hisses coldly, her whole stance just screams intimidation. She is very intimidating. "I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

Suddenly it clicks.

Damon is using me to try and make Katherine jealous.

"What exactly am I doing? What did you think I was doing, Elena?" Damon asks me innocently with a cheeky smile on his face.

I stand up hurriedly and return his smile with a glare because I am not okay with this.

"I don't care. Whatever this is," I motion my hand between them. "I don't want any part of it." I walk away before either of them can say another word.

I knew there was a reason why I didn't like him.

* * *

I scowl up at Katherine with distaste. "Do you always have to be such a bitch? I was only trying to be nice to the girl."

Katherine scoffs and leans back against the table, towering over me while her long perfectly manicured fingers grip my shoulder. "You, Damon Salvatore, don't have a nice bone in your body." She purrs into my ear so I shove her away.

"Oh I don't, and you do, huh?" I shake my head in disbelief.

"You know what Damon, I can make your life hell. You know that right?" She tells me cattily, a somewhat smug look on her face and I look up at her with a glare.

Katherine's right, she is the most popular girl in this school and I can count on one hand the amount of people I know of who aren't actually scared of her.

Myself being one of them.

"You don't scare me, Kat. You never have and you never will." I stand up so we are face to face.

"I exiled Aimee Bradley just because she slept with you. She had to move schools, all because of me. Don't think I won't do the same to you."

"You realize you are bragging about being a complete and utter evil bitch, right?"

Katherine shrugs casually. She clearly doesn't care. I shake my head in disbelief. "Stay away from Elena. In fact, stay away from me too, trailer trash." She snarls nastily at me before calmly strutting away.

I clench my fist together tightly and try to hold back from calling after her.

"She's not worth it." I hear Klaus appear behind me. "Ignore her."

"Whatever," I push past him and storm out of the cafeteria, the good mood I was feeling has long since turned sour.

Despite Katherine's warning to stay away from her cousin, I immediately spot her sitting outside alone in the quad. She looks up when she sees me approaching.

"Go away, Damon." She sighs loudly and I clench my jaw tightly.

"Listen," I begin, my voice a lot harsher than originally intended but I don't do anything to soften it. "I don't really give a damn what you think of me, okay? I saw you sitting alone, so I figured I would come and say hello. I don't know what I have done to upset you or what Katherine may have possibly told you about me, but I promise you that's all it was. There was no hidden agenda or whatever the hell you think was going on. I was just trying to be nice." I ignore the surprised, taken aback look on her face and take a step back and hold up my hands in the air. "But don't worry, I promise I wont ever bother you again."

I walk away, ignoring her calling out my name to come back.

I'm so sick of this place, this fake town, full of fake people.

I just want out.

* * *

 **So Elena was a little harsh huh? Let me know your thoughts! :)**

 **Thank you so much again for reading!**

 **Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Mason has been grinding on my last nerves all through practice. No matter what I do, he always has to try and do it better.

I go to take a shot from the edge of the box when I feel his hard elbow suddenly slam into my back, the ball goes flying off target and I groan loudly in frustration.

"Coach, come on!" I call to Coach Saltzman who is standing on the edge with his arms folded. Mason's Dad George is standing next to him, Mayor Lockwood is standing there too.

"Mason, take it easy." Saltzman calls out and Mason just chuckles, shoving me on his way past to collect the ball.

"Toughen up, Salvatore!" He winks at me on his way back and I refrain from punching him in the face.

The rest of practice goes by the same way, Mason making dirty challenges on me, even after coach moves us both into different positions so we wouldn't clash.

Unfortunately it doesn't work. Mason slams into my side, his elbow crashing into my neck and we both go flying. Mason lands on top of me with a thud but I get back up to my feet first and grab him by his collar.

Before I can do anything else, one of our teammates have their arms wrapped around my waist and swings me away before things can actually escalate.

Mr Saltzman blows his whistle, signalling that practice is over and I tiredly head towards the locker room, ignoring his calls to go over to him for a chat.

"Chin up Salvatore, at least it wasn't an actual game or you would have spent the whole time on the bench." Mason appears behind me and I bite my tongue.

"Back off, Lockwood." Klaus warns him as he comes up beside me.

"Whatever," Mason holds up his hands as he jogs backwards before turning around and running the rest of the way.

I angrily shove the door open, ignoring Klaus's curse behind me as it slams violently against the wall.

I grab my towel and wipe the sweat from my brow before removing my shirt and throwing it angrily into the locker.

"Come on Damon, calm down. He's been worse than that." Marcel calls out to me, some of the other boys nodding in agreement and I can hear Mason chuckle in the background.

I grab my bag, slam my locker door shut and storm out without another word, skipping the post training shower. I don't want to spend another minute in that assholes presence.

"Damon, wait up!"

I keep walking.

"Damon!" I reluctantly stop and turn around to see Mr Saltzman running after me.

"What?" I snap at him coldly.

"What are you doing?"

"Practice is over. I'm going home."

Mr Saltzman sighs loudly and rolls his eyes "I meant with Mason. You can't act like that in front of the mayor."

"I don't give a damn!" I hiss back angrily. "He's been riding my ass all week, throwing in elbows and fouling me every chance he gets!"

"I'll speak to him about it, but it's not like you have ever been afraid of a little competition. What's going on with you?"

"What's going on with me? What's going on with _you_? I used to like you, Mr Saltzman, I used to respect you as a coach because you always put the team first before any of the crappy town politics that comes with this shit show! Except now your buddying up to the mayor and the principle and you're letting Mason get away with as much crap as he wants because of it!"

"Damon, that's not true."

"Yes it is!" I argue back in frustration. "You know what, whatever, I don't care. I've got to go, I have a five hour shift at The Grill I need to head too, someone's gotta clean those damn tables because it sure as hell won't be someone like Mason Lockwood." I turn on my heel and storm away. I get to the bike rack and angrily unlock the chain.

I'm already running late. I was supposed to leave practice early in order to make it to work on time but I just couldn't let Mason get one over on me.

Today has been the day from hell. I woke up this morning to see there was a letter requested to meet with the parents/guardians of Emma and Lucas Salvatore to meet with their new First Grade teacher to discuss the progress that needs to be made throughout the year and all that kind of bullshit.

Immediately that set alarm bells off in my head. My Dad can barely last an hour sober, but more importantly, he hasn't left this damn trailer park in nearly two years ago after he lost his job.

I re-read the letter a billion times to try and work out if the meeting was mandatory, and although there is nothing there that says he _needs_ to attend, there is a sentence which includes the words – **strongly advised**.

It's not until next month, which means I have a few weeks to try and figure something out but that doesn't stop me worrying about it. Nobody can know that the twins are basically being raised by Stefan and I. Nobody.

Add that to Katherine acting like a bitch to me all day and then Mason being a dick in practice and therefore making me late for work, today has been absolutely _perfect_.

I arrive at The Grill in record time, dropping my bike in the back lane and locking it up. I walk through the backdoor and our manager looks at me with a glare.

"You're late!"

"I know, sorry." I apologise while grabbing my apron. "I had practice."

"I don't care. Don't let it happen again." He warns me sternly but we both know that it will. I head out into the front, my empty tub under my arm as I eye the busy restaurant.

I find an empty table that needs clearing and head towards it. I ignore the hustle and bustle around me and just focus on the task in hand.

"Damon," I turn around to see Stefan approaching me. I look down to see Lucas and Emma on either side of him.

"Hey munchkins." I ruffle Luke's hair before doing the same to Emma who squeals and tries to pull away.

"Think you can sneak these two a free meal?" He asks with a hopeful smile. I nod, it's easy enough to do. Plus, Mary, the head chef has a soft spot for me. She used to be friends with our Mom.

"Sure. Maybe even one for you too, little brother." I tease him and pinch his cheeks causing a laugh from the twins. Stefan swats my hands away with a glare.

"Whatever, we're going to find a table." I watch them go before heading back into the kitchen, making sure the manager is still out front in the bar before giving my new 'order' to Mary who takes it with a knowing smile.

* * *

Bonnie thankfully invited me out tonight for dinner before I even got the chance to ask her first. I follow her into the crowded restaurant and immediately recognise lots of people from school, Katherine included, which is not exactly what I wanted but she doesn't seem to notice me anyway.

"Come on, I want you to meet Enzo." She grabs a hold of my hand and easily glides through the crowded restaurant which is apparently the place to be.

She pulls me into a booth where there is a dark haired guy sitting with a smirk on his face. I'm guessing this is the famous Enzo.

"Ladies," He grins as Bonnie quickly leans over the table to kiss him before settling down next to me. "You must be Elena. Nice to meet you. I've heard good things."

I relax at his easy smile. I can't say I've heard all good things about him, especially from Caroline, but I obviously choose not to say anything about that.

We fall into an easy conversation, Enzo telling me all the bad things about Mystic Falls and how much it sucks. I laugh along with Bonnie who eagerly agrees and they both tell me about their plans to move to New York together for college.

It's cute. I like them together. Bonnie is clearly smitten with him and it looks like Enzo adores her just as much.

"I am starving, can we order?" Bonnie asks while looking around the crowded place trying to wave someone over.

"Absolutely," Enzo moves to his feet. "Damon!" He waves his hand in the air and my body tenses.

It can't be surely…

I look up and practically hide behind my menu when Damon approaches. He greets Enzo with a first bump and nods at Bonnie before looking over at me. I catch his eye for a second but he looks away before I can send him a smile.

Honestly, I feel so terrible for what happened yesterday. Damon was right, he was only trying to be nice and I repaid him for that by being an absolute bitch back to him.

I really don't know what came over me.

"What can I get you?" He looks down at his white notepad. Bonnie reads off her order without looking up and Damon doesn't even look in my direction when I order my food. I watch as he looks at Enzo impatiently.

"Klaus told me Mason was giving you a hard time today in practice. The guy's a dick, you shouldn't let him affect your game."

"I'm not." Damon replies bluntly. "What can I get you?" He asks again and I watch as Enzo's face turns into a frown.

"Who pissed in your cornflakes?" Bonnie looks up at Damon with a glare before Enzo can respond.

Damon sighs loudly and sends us all a fake smile. "Look around Bon Bon, it's busy. I don't have time to chat."

"A little customer service is not a chat." Bonnie replies stubbornly. Damon goes to reply but Enzo holds out his hand.

"Relax, both of you." He looks between the two of them amused. "Get me a cheeseburger and a some chilli fries. Thanks." He hands his menu back to Damon. Damon takes it and silently walks away.

"God, you know, usually I don't mind Damon but he can be such an ass sometimes. I don't know how you put up with him."

Enzo shakes his head with a smile. "He's probably still wound up from Mason being _Mason_ at practice. Don't take it personally."

I sit silently as the subject is changed and I can't help but search The Grill with my eyes for Damon again. I spot him cleaning another table, his eyebrows pressed together in a frown. He looks pissed off and it only makes me feel more guilty for the way that I treated him yesterday.

We finish up our food and Bonnie and Enzo start bickering about their plans for the weekend, giving me an opportunity to sneak away.

While we were eating I decided I was going to go and find Damon to apologize. Even if he doesn't want to hear me out, I still need to say sorry.

I see him heading out of the kitchen empty handed and this is my chance, before I can reach him though someone grabs my arm and pulls me back. I turn around and come face to face with my cousin who is staring me down with an icy look in her eyes.

I wonder if she knows what I was about to go do.

"Hey Kat…" I force a smile despite her icy glare.

"Look, Elena, I know you're new to town but you really need to be careful on who you make friends with." I frown confused and she motions back towards Bonnie and Enzo. "Trust me, you will have a much better time in this place if you stay away from the trash, if you get what I'm saying."

My eyes widen in shock at her words. My mind briefly wanders back to Bonnie telling me about the term 'trailer trash kids' and this is the first time since she told me that I actually believe the term has actually been used.

"Are you serious?" I ask her in disbelief. I can't help it. I knew Katherine had a bitchy side to her but this is just damn right rude.

"Of course I'm serious, Elena." Katherine rolls her eyes. "Okay fine, Bonnie is smart so she can get away with it but Enzo? Seriously? The guy is dirt, I wouldn't waste a second of my breath talking to the guy. He's a loser."

"He seems nice enough to me." I fire back and Katherine's eyes immediately light up.

"Do you _like_ like him?" She asks with a devils smirk and I look at her flabbergasted.

"Of course not." I wave her off in annoyance. Honestly I can't even believe we are having this conversation.

"Look, I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you to have a hard time. You should stick to hanging around with Caroline and Tyler Lockwood, even Matt." She pats me on the arm condescendingly. "Trust me, you need to listen to me on this one."

With that she is gone and I watch her go with my mouth ajar.

I turn back to where I was originally headed but Damon is long gone. I feel like an idiot standing in the middle of the restaurant but for some reason I can't bring myself to go back to Bonnie and Enzo.

Not because of Katherine's warning, I'm not a pushover and I can judge people for myself. Plus I'm never going to judge someone just because of where they live, it's ridiculous and the fact that it clearly exists in this backwards town is mind-boggling to me.

So instead I head home. I don't think I could go back to Bonnie without venting about what just happened and I don't want to cause any trouble so it's best if I just keep quiet. I send her a quick text to apologise, explaining that I had a headache.

It wasn't a total lie to be honest.

It's been a long day. I go straight to bed, ignoring Isobel's pleasantries and crawl straight under my duvet with the lights off.

I push Katherine out of my thoughts but soon my mind is overtaken by my family and that only makes me feel worse.

I just want the pain to stop.

* * *

I lie in silence in the dark. I hear Stefan breathing evenly from across the small room but I can tell that he's awake.

Compared to the shitty day I have had today, the only plus to the night was that I got to come home from my shift at The Grill to find my Dad already passed out in his arm chair for the night, while Lucas and Emma were already settled in their room.

I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling. It's dark but I can still see some of the cracks.

"I think I'm going to quit the team."

There is a long pause before Stefan finally answers.

"You can't."

"I have to, Stefan." I swallow hard. "I'm exhausted."

"You can't just quit, Damon. You love basketball, it's the only good thing you have going in your life. If you give that up you may as well just…" he trails off, clearly not wanting to finish his sentence and I don't want to hear it anyway.

"There's no point anyway. Mason is going to play this season, it's obvious."

"Just because Mason is playing doesn't mean that you can't, okay? Trust me, I get it. I've had competition too but it's a good thing. It keeps you on your toes."

"No this is different, okay? Your competition wasn't the principles nephew. You know the mayor came to practice today? The _mayor_. The season hasn't even started yet, we haven't even played a pre-season game and the mayor is coming to practice. There is no way in hell Saltzman is going to bench Mason over me."

"The mayor is a dick." Stefan grumbles and I hold back a smile. We fall into another silence as I dwell on what to do.

Stefan's right. Basketball is the only thing that I actually do for _me_ , but it shouldn't be this hard. I don't need anything else that's difficult right now, I have enough of that already.

"Have you ever thought of playing a different position?" Stefan breaks the silence again.

"I'm a shooting guard, I've only ever been a shooting guard. I'm not good enough to play anywhere else."

"You're the best player I know. You're the best player in that team."

"You're bias."

"I'm not. Marcel may be the captain, and okay, he's good. He's solid, but he doesn't have what you have. Mason sure as hell doesn't have what you have."

"And yet Mason plays and I don't. Where is the justice in that?"

"There is no justice, Damon." Stefan sighs. "There isn't any at all. You and I both know that too well. You shouldn't give up though. Talk to the coach, see if there is something else you can do."

"There's no point."

"Yes there is. Trust me…if you lose basketball…then what's the point? I don't know how I would function without football."

"It's different." I reply and turn my head to face him even though I know he can't see me in the dark. "Football is your career, basketball is just my hobby."

"It doesn't have to be, you know. You can get a scholarship…"

"And do what? Leave Lucas and Emma here with Dad?"

Stefan says silent because he knows as well as I do that that is not an option.

"I could stay." He whispers quietly. "It doesn't have to be you."

"Stefan, don't be ridiculous. You are ten times the football player than I am basketball. Scouts come from all over the country just to see _you_. You are the best football player in the state. There is no way in _hell_ I am going to let you give that up."

I know I get on his ass about getting a job, and I still want him, _need_ him to help out financially but that doesn't mean he also has to give up football. He's the one person who can give Lucas and Emma the life that they deserve to have. Stefan lives, breathes, and sleeps football. He trains three times a day, every day. He skips lunch breaks to work out in the gym, he spends his afternoons after school practising out in the field, even out of season.

Stefan doesn't even have any friends outside of the football team. How could he? Apart from the afterparties during the season, he doesn't do anything else but play and train.

I keep telling him that he needs to lighten up. He needs to get himself a girlfriend or something but he shoots me down. He is determined this is his one and only shot to change his life and nothing is going to change that.

I kind of respect him for it actually.

"I'm not going to let you give up either, Damon." Stefan breaks me out of my thoughts. "Stick with it, and if it still sucks by the end of the season then fine, quit, but at least then you can say you tried."

I don't say anything else because deep down I know that he's right. My idiot little twin brother may be a selfish dick sometimes but he sure as hell does understand me.

He's probably the only person who actually does.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! :) Please review and let me know what you thought about this one.**

 **I know there is a bit of a slow start, especially with DE but just stick with it, I have the first eleven chapters already written and it's going to pick up real soon I promise :)**

 **Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries**

* * *

I'm woken up by the sound of an engine revving. It's loud, like _really_ loud. I pull myself out of bed and pull a t-shirt over my head while I walk out of my room to see that there is no one in the trailer. I quietly peek in to the twins bedroom to see they aren't there either.

Then that damn engine revs again and I remember why I'm awake so early on a Sunday morning anyway.

I swing open the door and I frown confused when Stefan is out front, Emma and Lucas are both with him. However they aren't alone.

No, there's a damn moped out in our yard and Lucas is sitting on top of it, moving the handles and revving the engine while Stefan holds him to keep him steady.

"What the hell is that?" I ask in disbelief as I jump down the steps and cross the short yard.

"It's a moped, Damon!" Lucas tells me excitedly.

I look at Stefan confused. "Where did it come from?"

Stefan grins. "I bought it."

"You _what_?!" I gawp at him in disbelief. "How the hell did you afford to by a freaking moped?"

"Kol leant me some cash."

My blood immediately boils. "What the hell, Stefan? No, no, no! Take it back, get your refund and return the money to Kol. You don't take charity."

"You can't take it back!" Lucas gasps and I glare at Stefan angrily. I am going to kill him. If it wasn't for the twins I would be ringing his neck right about now.

"It's not charity, Damon. It's a loan." Stefan rolls his eyes at me. "Kol's my best friend. He wanted to help out. Plus I'm going to pay him back."

"And how the hell are you going to manage that?"

He faces me smugly. "I got a job."

I look at him in astonishment. "You got a job? You? _You,_ Stefan eat, breath and sleep football Salvatore got a job?"

"Yup." He nods with a smirk. "Which is why I need this moped. I'm officially a pizza delivery guy."

"Free pizza!" Emma squeals excitedly and I look at Stefan in disbelief.

"Seriously?"

"Yup." He repeats. "It's an evening gig, three nights a week so it won't interfere with practice. The money isn't anything exciting but it's enough to help out." He takes in my expression. "What are you looking at me like that for? You were the one who wanted me to get a job in the first place."

I nod slowly. "I'm just trying to work out if this all just a dream. You actually got a job?"

"Yes Damon," he sighs exaggeratedly. "I got a job. It's official. Are you proud?"

I let a laugh escape my lips. "Hell yeah." I fist bump him before patting him on the back. "Good on you, seriously."

He grins happily and Lucas revs the engine loudly again. "Can I have a ride?"

Stefan laughs and wraps his arms around his waist. "Absolutely not, kiddo. Come talk to me again in twelve years." He swings Lucas off the moped and drops him off back on to his feet. "I'm going to go to the park to meet Kol and some of the other guys for a game of football. I'll take the little ones."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't you have work today?"

"Not until twelve."

Stefan shakes his head. "I'll probably be there most of the day. It's cool, I'll take them."

"You know that means you wont be able to take your fancy new moped." I eye it up because suddenly it is looking a lot more appealing. I pick up the helmet from the handles, swinging it around in my hands. "Maybe I should take it for a spin, you know, test it out? Health and Safety reasons."

Stefan laughs and snatches his helmet out of my hands. "Just like Lucas, absolutely _not_."

"Dick."

"Damon!"

I look down at Emma who gasps at my language and I immediately cringe.

"Sorry princess."

I resist sending Stefan the finger when I hear his howls of laughter as I get glared and scolded at by my six year old little sister

* * *

"I didn't know you could drive." I hop into Caroline's car. I was surprised to wake up this morning to see a text from her asking if I wanted to hang out. I happily accepted, anything to get me out of that house. Bonnie was spending the day with Enzo so it was just the two of us.

"Yep, passed in the summer. My Dad bought me this car as a going back to school present." She rolls her eyes slightly. "It's a guilt gift for leaving my Mom and me for a _man_ ," I feel my jaw drop but Caroline keeps going casually. "But whatever, I don't care because I get a car out of it."

"Right…"

"Which is why I need to take it to the car wash. It's dirty."

"Let's go then." I smile as I buckle myself in. Caroline, for as ditzy as I have learned she can be, is actually a pretty good driver. Then again, she is a cheerleader so she has to have some form of coordination.

We pull up into the busy car wash lot and wait in a long queue. "Damn, I knew I should have gone after school on Friday. It's always busy on the weekend."

I look up from my phone to see she is indeed correct, however my eyes widen when I see a familiar head of dark hair cleaning the vehicle two cars in front of us.

"He works here too?" The words escape my mouth before I can stop myself.

"Huh?" Caroline looks at me confused before following my gaze. "Who, Damon? Yeah, he works here." She frowns and looks at me. "How do you know Damon?"

"I met him in my bathroom the other night." I confess with a cringe and Caroline's eyes widen.

"What? Seriously?"

"He's Katherine's ex, right?" I ask curiously, still not quite understanding the details of their relationship. At first I thought he was her boyfriend, then I thought maybe they were just friends with benefits but Katherine seems to hate him and Damon doesn't seem very fond of her either.

"Yes. Katherine's ex, who cheated on her with this slut called Aimee Bradley."

I glance back over at Damon shocked. I don't know why…but I kind of just assumed that Katherine would have been the bad guy in their relationship.

"I'm so shocked that she's still sleeping with him. She told us that it was completely over." I feel my eyes widen in panic and Caroline seems to catch on. "Don't worry, I wont tell her that you told me. I wont tell anyone."

"Thank you." I feel myself relax but it doesn't last long because through our short chatter I didn't realise that we were next up.

Damon taps on Caroline's window and I watch as she winds it down. "Salvatore." She greets him coldly.

"Miss Forbes." Damon replies somewhat politely despite her tone. "Usual?"

"Yes please." She turns to face me. "Come on, Elena, we'll go get a coffee. I get the full shebang so it usually takes about fifteen minutes or so."

I see Damon's eyes widen when he notices that I'm here and I follow her lead and step out of the car. Damon catches my eyes and nods slightly.

I smile, thankful that he doesn't immediately turn away like he did at The Grill the other night.

Caroline takes my hand and leads me into the garage and helps herself to the complimentary coffee for customers before handing me one.

"Matt just text me to say he's at the park with Tyler and some of the other boys playing football. He wants to know if we want to go and watch."

"Sure." I shrug easily as I take a sip of my coffee. I can't help my eyes drift out of the large glass window where Damon is moving around Caroline's car with a sponge. I lick my lips as his dark blue t-shirt clings to his body tightly, showing off his back and arm muscles.

There is no denying that he is hot.

"I told you, I think he likes you."

I snap out of my trance and turn to face Caroline in a small panic. " _What_? Who?"

Caroline looks at me like I'm crazy. "Matt!"

"Oh…Matt…" I frown and shake my head. Caroline rolls her eyes before letting out a smile.

"It's okay to like him too you know. He's single…"

"I'm not interested in dating right now."

Caroline pauses for a second and looks at me for a long moment. "Does it have something to do with what happened with your family?"

I tense and Caroline can tell immediately that she has overstepped her boundaries.

"Sorry…it's just…Katherine told me about what happened and you haven't mentioned it yet and I just thought…I don't know…I know we don't know each other very well yet, and I would really like that to change, but just so you know, you really can talk to me about anything."

I feel the tension in my body slowly start to leave because despite how annoying she can sometimes be, I really like this girl and there is something in her voice that just sounds so genuine that I can't help but trust her.

"It's hard," I swallow the lump in my throat that creeps up every time someone mentions my family. "This is the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. I have to pretend that everything is okay every single day, because if I stop pretending, even just for a second, I'll break. I don't know how I'll ever recover if that happens."

Caroline doesn't say anything, instead she reaches out and takes my hand in hers. She squeezes it gently and nods her head in understanding and that's all I need.

For the first time since arriving in this town I feel just a single second of peace.

It only lasts for a second, but it's a start.

* * *

When we arrive at the park I'm surprised to see almost half of our schools football team are there playing. I look at Caroline as she strolls confidently along the stony path towards them.

"Why is this town so obsessed with football?"

Caroline laughs. "Football…basketball…cheerleading. There is really nothing else to do around here." She climbs on to the bleachers.

I spot Matt immediately and like he knows, he turns in my direction. His smile widens and he sends me a wave which I slowly return.

"I told you," Caroline whispers into my ear and I elbow her in the side. I look out in front of me, I spot Tyler too as well as a couple of other boys I know from class. Apart from that they are all just familiar faces.

There are some other girls here too, sitting further along the bleachers. Some of them are watching intently, cheering on their friends or boyfriends while others are glued to their phones or engrossed in their own conversation.

I look down in front of me and frown confused when I see a small girl sitting alone on the front row, a doll in her hand as she slides a small plastic brush through it's hair.

I look around the area confused because there isn't anyone close by who looks even remotely like an adult. In fact, during my gaze I spot another child, a small boy, who looks about the same age, only instead of a doll he has a small basketball and is bouncing it up and down on the gravel by the side of the bleachers.

He looks up for a second and there is something about him that is familiar but I can't pinpoint what.

I look at Caroline who seems oblivious but then it's like it happens in slow motion.

"Incoming!" A deep voice shouts somewhere from the field.

I hear the shout and I jump to my feet but it's too late. The ball goes flying out of the field and it lands straight into the little girl. It knocks her tiny body flying off the bench and she falls to the floor with a thud.

I run down the steps towards her as she lets out a loud wail and I'm the first to arrive.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" She is crying hard, and I quickly check any signs for blood but luckily there is nothing there. I feel the front and back of her head quickly for any bumps but again nothing.

"Who the fuck did that?!" I hear the sound of an angry voice before I feel a body land beside me. "Hey, come here princess. Hey, it's okay." I turn to see a guy who looks familiar but I can't quite place him. He definitely goes to Mystic Falls High though, in fact I'm pretty sure he is in my Biology class.

He pulls the girl into his arms and she clings to him tightly as he stands up in a rush.

"She's okay." I stand up alongside him. "There's no cut, I don't even think it hit her head. It bounced right before the impact which broke the strength of the shot. There's no open wounds or bumps, I think she's okay."

"What?" He hisses at me. "How could you possibly know that?" He looks at me in a mixture of disbelief and anger and I open and close my mouth unsure of what else to say.

"My Dad is a doctor," the words escape my lips before I can stop them. _Used_ to be a doctor. "I picked up a thing or two, I know first aid. She's okay."

"Who the hell threw that ball, huh?!" He swings around furiously, his attention now off me.

"Stefan, calm down. It was an accident."

"No, I won't fucking calm down! One of you idiots could have really hurt her! Who the hell was it? Huh? Who on this God damn team can't throw a ball!"

The little girls crying gets louder and I realize it's probably from all of the shouting.

She's scared.

"Stefan!" Caroline appears beside me, joining the commotion. "You're scaring her."

Stefan freezes as he realizes. His jaw is clenched but he turns his back to the field and strolls back over to the bleachers, he gently places the little girl on the bench and pushes some of her hair back from her face.

"Emma, hey, Ems." He strokes her cheeks gently. "Hey," his lips twitch in to a tiny smile. "It's okay, honey. It's okay, you're okay. Does it hurt?" She nods, her cries slowly starting to calm as she hiccups. "Where does it hurt?"

She points to her shoulder where the ball must have hit her. I watch as Stefan slowly pushes back her shirt and it's bruised red. His eyes widen and he turns to face me, a look of panic on his face.

I bend down beside him and take a look but it doesn't look like anything serious. "It's just a bruise."

"Do you think I should take her to the hospital?" He asks quietly, his voice barely a whisper and I can tell he doesn't want to scare her.

"I'm not a doctor…I…I don't know…maybe." I feel a little on edge from the amount of eyes watching me right now.

"You know first aid…"

"Yes but I can't possibly tell if there is anything else wrong…I…it's definitely not broken or anything like that…but she's so small and it was a powerful throw…"

"I'll drive you, Stefan." Caroline crouches down at his other side. "It's probably nothing but it's best to get it checked out, just to be safe." She touches his shoulder softly and my eyebrows twitch a little confused by the look the two of them share.

Does she _like_ him?

"Okay, let's go." He lifts the little girl, who I now believe to be called Emma into his arms. I watch as he looks around, and that's when I remember the small boy playing by the edge of the bleachers. Except he's not there anymore.

He's standing closer, his eyes wide and scared.

Stefan holds out his arm and the little boy immediately runs towards him, crashing into his side. I see Stefan's jaw lock and he sends a warning look to all of his teammates before we head out.

"Whoever did this better learn how to throw a damn ball or I'll make sure you're off the team for good." The threat sounds real and I wonder how he could possibly have the power to do that.

Caroline looks at me with an apologetic smile. "Do you think maybe…"

"I'll come with you."

"You don't have too."

"No, come." Stefan interrupts us and I can see the worry on his features. "You're the only one who has a clue what you're talking about. I'd rather you come too."

I nod, and I follow them silently back to Caroline's car. Stefan takes the back seat with both kids while I sit in the front.

We only make it about half way to the hospital when Stefan suddenly changes his mind.

"We can't go to the hospital." He calls out from the back seat. "It's fine, you can just drop us off here."

"What?" I see Caroline look at him through her rear view mirror in disbelief. "But…"

"She's fine. Look, she's stopped crying. She's clearly not in pain anymore."

"But wouldn't you rather have her checked out…you agree, don't you Elena?" Caroline looks at me and my mouth opens and closes again unsure of what to say.

Honestly, the last place I want to be going to right now is a hospital for obvious reasons, but I would never put that fear above the health of a little girl.

"Stefan maybe we should go just to be safe…you said yourself you would rather check to be sure."

Stefan shakes his head adamantly. "We _can't_ go." I glance at Caroline who is still driving towards the hospital. "I'm serious, Caroline. Stop the car."

"Stefan-"

"Stop the car, Caroline!" He cuts her off almost angrily and I glance again behind me. Luckily Emma is sleeping against Stefan's chest, the crying has worn her out, however her brother, who I have now learned is called Lucas is still wide awake.

He is looking down at his palms silently and I swallow worriedly.

Caroline sighs loudly and pulls over onto the side of the road. "Thank you." Stefan grumbles and goes to open the door but Caroline locks it from the front.

"Let me at least take you home." She offers and Stefan shakes his head immediately. "Stefan…come on."

"We're fine."

"I still think you need to see someone."

"I can't okay?" He looks stressed. "She's my little sister, I was supposed to be looking after her."

"It was an accident." Caroline tries to reassure him. "Your Dad will understand."

Stefan's body tenses. "He's out of town. I can't take her to the hospital because they will have to call him and he'll have to come home, even if it's over nothing. She's fine. I'll keep an eye on her, if the bruise gets worse I promise I'll take her."

Caroline glances at me and I shrug, it's not exactly my call. If Stefan doesn't want to take her to the hospital then there is nothing we can do about it.

"Wait, I have an idea." Caroline smiles at herself before turning into her seat to face Stefan. "Do you trust me?"

He stares at her for a long moment and I feel like I am intruding. "Promise no hospitals?"

"I promise. Come on." She turns back and starts the engine.

* * *

I've never cycled so hard in my life.

I drop my bike into the driveway and run up the porch steps, banging my fist against the door loudly.

It doesn't take long for it to open.

"Where is she?" I push past Mr Saltzman who answers the door and into the sitting room, my chest is tight with panic but my shoulders deflate in relief when I see Emma sitting on the sofa eating a bowl of ice cream.

I quickly approach her, bending down in front of her and check her shoulder which has an ice pack strapped to it. "Are you okay?" I tuck some of her soft brown hair behind her ear.

She nods with a content smile. "Jenna gave me ice cream, do you want some?" I shake my head.

"No thank you princess. I'll let you have it all." I lean forward and press my lips against her forehead.

Miss Sommers, or _Jenna_ as my little sister is now calling her is sitting on the floor beside her and in my rush to see Emma I completely missed her.

"Is she okay?" I ask worriedly.

"She's fine, Damon." She reaches out and presses her hand against my arm. "It's nothing serious, just a bruise. I've tapped the ice just to help with the swelling but I promise you it's nothing bad. Trust me, I was training to be a nurse before I dropped out of the course to become a teacher."

I let out a breath of relief that I realise I have been holding ever since I received Stefan's text to tell me what happened.

Speaking of…

"Where's Stefan?" I rise to my feet, the tension suddenly back.

"He's in the kitchen…" Mr Saltzman explains and he must recognise the look on my face because me follows me into the room. "Damon, calm down it was an accident."

I swing the kitchen door open and am taken aback for a moment when I see that he's not alone. Caroline Forbes and…Jesus…Elena Gilbert are also sitting at the kitchen table with him. They all look up at me, Elena and Caroline both wide eyed but Stefan looks nervous.

Lucas is sitting on his lap and I take in a deep breath.

"Hey little man," I keep my temper in check. "Can you go and check on your sister for me please?" Lucas nods and I ruffle his hair as he passes me. I close the door behind me, Mr Saltzman sends me a warning look before following Lucas into the other room.

"Damon…" Stefan rises to his feet. "Let me explain-"

I grab him by the collar and slam him against the wall before he can finish. "You asshole! You were meant to be looking after her!"

"Damon, stop it!" I hear Caroline call my name and there is tugging on my arm but it's not Stefan fighting back. "Damon!"

I shove Stefan away from me, the tiny sensible part of my brain is telling me that Emma or Lucas could walk in at at moment and I don't want them to see this.

"I'm sorry!"

"Damn it! You had one job to do! Instead you put football above your family just like always!"I know that I'm being unfair but I'm just so god damn angry.

"No, no. You know that's not true! Okay, I was watching her! She was sitting on the bleachers, she was right there! It was an accident, how was I supposed to know it was going to happen!"

"Damon he's right, it was an accident." Elena speaks up for the first time and I look at her with a frown.

"What are you even doing here?" I look between her and Caroline. "What are you _both_ doing here?"

"They helped, Elena knows first aid and Caroline was going to give us a ride to the hospital…"

"The hospital?" I spit out coldly but my heart starts to pound in panic.

"We didn't go!" Stefan steps closer to me and I know it's to stop this conversation from going any further with Elena and Caroline in the room. "We came here instead so Miss Sommers could look over her. She's okay. It's just a bruise."

"You're a dick."

Stefan runs his hand through his hair before shaking his head. "You know what, no, I'm not a dick! You're a dick!"

I look at him in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Yes! Give me a break, okay? I'm trying here! It was an accident, I didn't do it on purpose! It wasn't even me who threw the ball."

"Well you find out who it is and tell me so I can kick their ass!"

"Not if I get there first!"

We both fall into silence, the room is brimming with tension and then Stefan starts laughing. I can't help it. My lips twitch and I suddenly can't help but join him.

Caroline looks between us like we have both lost the plot. "You two are crazy."

We calm down and I feel a little breathless. "Are you sure she's okay?"

Stefan nods confidently. "She's absolutely fine."

"Okay. Okay good." I nod slowly and glance down at my watch. "You should go if you want to make it to work on time. You don't want to be late on your first day. You need to make it home first to pick up that damn moped of yours."

Stefan smirks and nods his head in agreement. "I'll give you a ride." Caroline offers but my brother stupidly declines.

"I'm fine, but thank you." He presses his hand against her arm before saying thank you to them both for helping and leaving the room.

"You know, I keep telling my brother he needs to get laid. Maybe you could help him out with that Blondie." I smirk at Caroline and her eyes widen.

"Stefan's right, you are a dick."I shrug innocently with a smirk on my face and she groans in frustration. "You know what, I'm going to see if your cute little sister has any ice cream left for me to share. God knows how someone so lovely can be related to _you_."

She pushes past me to leave the room and I chuckle as I watch her leave. It takes me another second to realize that it's only me and Elena left.

I turn to face her and smile slowly. "Thank you for helping."

"I really didn't do much." She replies softly and I swallow at the sound of her voice.

Jesus Damon, get a grip.

I clear my throat and stuff my hands into my pockets. "Well thank you anyway."

"He was really scared you know." Elena looks up at me and I pull out a chair and sit opposite her at the table. "You can see how much he loves her."

I nod and look around the the room before my eyes land on her dark irises. "He does love her. She's the baby of the family, we call her princess for a reason." I smile and watch as Elena returns it.

"That's cute," she grins at me and I chuckle and shake my head."I didn't know you were a twin." She tells me pointedly, a tiny smirk on her face.

"You never gave me a chance to tell you such fun facts about myself." I wink at her for good measure and I watch as her cheeks redden.

"Damon, I've been meaning to apologise about that…I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you the other day at school. I was completely out of line with what I said, I don't know what came over me. I'm not usually like that, I promise."

I let out another short chuckle. "You're not a bitch, Elena. Your cousin may be one, but you certainly aren't."

Elena smiles and shakes her head before staring at me closely. "If you hate Katherine so much, why are you sleeping with her?" She challenges me and for a second I'm stumped.

I shrug. "Why does anybody do anything? Because they can? Because they want to? Plus, it's past tense. I slept with her. I'm not sleeping with her anymore."

"No?" She sounds surprised.

"Nope." I pop my lips. "I think it turned her off when I told her I thought you were cute."

I watch amused as Elena's eyes widen and her cheeks flush red again. Before she can even come up with a reply the door opens and in walks in Miss Sommers.

"You guys are all staying for supper. I'm not taking no for an answer."

I shrug and look at Elena with a questioning smile.

"Okay yeah, that sounds good to me." She agrees and my smile widens.

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading - Merry Christmas! I'll probably be back with the next chapter before New Year hopefully.**

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries**

 **I wasn't going to post this until the end of the week but I'm feeling festive! I hope everyone had a great Christmas :)**

* * *

"Damon, tell me to mind my own business here but can I ask you a question?" Jenna asks me as I continue to wash the dishes at the sink.

Elena is drying them beside me in silence and I nod my head, unsure of where this is about to go.

"Sure." I reply.

Dinner was great, Mrs Sommers, or Jenna, as she insists we should call her outside of school, cooked us a whole roast dinner. It was delicious, it was the first time I've had a proper home cooked meal in what feels like forever.

I insisted on helping to clean up since she spent so much time in the kitchen, Elena offered to help too but Jenna insisted that she wouldn't be a very good host if she let us do it all on our own.

Alaric is with the twins and Caroline in the living room, all watching some kind of Disney movie which Emma requested.

"Stefan said he couldn't take Emma to the hospital because your Dad was out of town?"  
I feel my body tense but I try not to show it. Instead I keep washing, silently passing each freshly clean piece of cutlery on to Elena beside me as Jenna continues to clear the table.

"That's right."

"Does he go out of town often?" She asks curiously.

"Sometimes." I answer vaguely. "It's not a big deal. Stefan just wouldn't have wanted to bother him, that's all. It doesn't mean anything."

I see Elena looking at me from the corner of my eye but I keep washing. My eyes glued down to my soapy hands.

"It's a lot of responsibility to look after two six year olds on your own." I hear the concern in her voice but that just puts me more on edge.

"Look, we're fine." I pass Elena the dish that was in my hands a little more forcefully than necessary and turn around to face Jenna who is standing by the table watching me carefully. "My Dad is just trying his best. He doesn't leave us for too long and if Stefan and I weren't able to watch them, he wouldn't leave. Simple as that." The lie rolls easily off my tongue, I have had years and years of practising the lie that everything is okay. "There's no issue here." I wipe my hands dry on a nearby towel. "We should probably head off, I have to get them bathed and in to bed. It's almost their bed time."

"Damon…" Jenna steps in front of me before I can leave the room. "I'm sorry if you think I was overstepping my mark. I was just trying to help."

I take a deep breath because I can't be mad at her after she just saved us a load of drama that taking Emma to the hospital would have caused.

"No, I know. It's okay, thank you for your concern. Thank you for dinner, I appreciate it." I smile for good measure and Jenna seems to accept it.

I head into the living area and call for the twins that it's time to go. They both argue for a moment but the sternness in my voice makes them stop when I tell them again we need to leave now.

"Do you guys want a ride?" Caroline asks me with a kind smile.

I shake my head as a no while I tie Lucas's shoe laces. "No. We're good. Thank you though."

* * *

When we get back to the trailer, Dad is sitting watching TV. He's drunk, but he's not completely wasted.

"Hey kids," he greets the twins and pulls them in for a hug. Despite everything, despite how much of a drunken waste of space he is, I can't deny that he doesn't love them. "How was your day?"

Lucas begins to tell him and I can tell that my Dad is only half listening as he takes another swig of his beer. He answers in all of the right places though and as far as the twins know they have his full attention.

That's all that matters.

With the knowledge that my Dad is somewhat steady enough to be their Dad for more than five minutes, I head back outside.

I make the short distance where Enzo is already sitting on his front step, a cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Can you spare one for a friend?"

"We're friends now, are we?" Enzo replies shortly but hands me a cigarette anyway. "I couldn't tell, from how much of an asshole you were being the other night."

I let out a dry laugh and sit down on the dry grass beside him, my back leaning against his trailer as he towers over me on the steps.

"I was a dick."

"Yes you were."

"Sorry."

"It's cool, bro." Enzo shrugs it off easily and I let out a breath of relief. "What was that piece of metal junk I saw in your yard this morning?"

I chuckle and take a drag of my cigarette before answering. "Stefan bought a moped." I tell him amused.

I see Enzo's lips twitch into a smile before he starts laughing. "Seriously?"

"Yep. It's for his new career. He's now a pizza delivery driver. Can you believe it?"

Enzo's laugh gets louder and he slaps his knee in disbelief. "No way? Seriously! I can't imagine that kid doing anything else other than football."

"I'm so damn tempted to order a pizza right now just to see it with my own eyes." I agree and I watch as mischievous look crosses Enzo's eyes. "No, we can't." I laugh.

Stefan will kill me.

"I'm hungry." He shrugs with an evil grin and I hold my back my laughter as he pulls his cellphone and dials. "Hey, can I order one large pepperoni pizza to be delivered please?" He barks off his address before hanging up. "Don't look at me like that, I really do need to see it to believe it."

I shake my head. "He is going to kill us."

"Bring it on." Enzo chuckles.

Just as predicted, forty minutes later I hear the loud sound of Stefan's moped in the distance and we both rise to our feet as he pulls up outside Enzo's trailer. He stumbles for a moment, a little unbalanced as he tries to stop and that only makes us laugh even harder.

"You are both jackasses, you know that?" Stefan throws off his helmet before heading to the back of his moped and pulling out the pizza. He basically slams it against Enzo's chest.

"Woah buddy, don't take it out on the pizza." Enzo teases him as he pulls a note from his pocket and hands it to him. "Look, see, I've just tipped you two dollars."

"Wow, thanks." Stefan replies sarcastically and turns to me. "What?" He asks self-consciously.

"Nothing." I hold back a laugh. "I just really like your uniform."

Stefan gives us the finger before storming back towards his moped and climbing on. We both howl with laughter as he revs the engine extra hard before he goes shooting off out of the cul-de-sac.

"Poor kid," Enzo shakes his head with a laugh. "At least he's pulling his weight now."

"Yeah," my laughter slowly dies down and I let out a content sigh. "Took him long enough."

"Footballers," Enzo opens his pizza and sighs loudly when he sees he has been given the wrong order. He pulls a slice off and eats it anyway. "They've always been a bit slow."

* * *

"So, how do you know Stefan?" I ask Caroline curiously as we both lie down on her bed later on that night. I still didn't want to go back to the house so when Caroline invited me back to hers to watch a movie, again, I wasn't going to say no.

Caroline shrugs, her eyes glued to the screen in front of her. "We share some classes."

I smile because I can see how hard she is trying to not give me a reaction. "How come I've never seen him around much?"

"He plays football." She replies like that should explain everything.

"Matt and Tyler also play football and I see plenty of them." I point out.

"Stefan is the captain of the team. He is very dedicated. He spends all of his time in the gym or out in the field doing drills."

"Right…so…he mustn't have time for a girlfriend then?"

Caroline finally whips her head to face me. "Why do you care? Do you like him? What about Matt?"

"Whoa slow down." I laugh and hold my hands up in defence. "I'm not asking for me…"

Caroline's face twists in confusion. "What then who…" I watch as the penny drops. "No! No way. I do not like him like that. He's a nice boy, but we are barely even friends."

"Didn't look like that to me today."

Caroline huffs. "The last thing I need right now is another boy in my life, I have enough to deal with over the whole Tyler and Klaus drama."

"So you _do_ like him?"

"No!"I smile knowingly at her and she groans. "I think he's cute, but it doesn't matter anyway because he's not interested."

"How do you know that?"

"Because it's Stefan Salvatore, I wasn't exaggerating when I said he spends all of his time in the gym or playing football. The guy is a machine. I don't even think he's ever had a girlfriend before."

"Well, I think you guys would be cute together."

"So would you and Matt."I throw my pillow off her. "Hey! So it's okay for you to pry into my love life but I'm not allowed yours?"

I laugh and shake my head.

"That's exactly how it should be."

I don't catch the pillow in time as she throws it back off my face with a giggle.

* * *

By the time I get home it's late. I hop off my bike and I'm about to walk inside when I see a lump in the yard by Mrs Steven's fence.

"Jesus christ."

It's my Dad, passed out on the lawn. A bottle of whiskey clutched between his sweaty palms.

I don't need this tonight. I've had a long day at school where I failed a test, then I had a shitty practice where Mason wouldn't stop fouling me again before finishing off with a nice shift at The Grill where Katherine made my life hell by repeatedly changing her order and then complaining to my manager about my 'inability to listen to customers'.

"You're going to kill yourself." I mutter harshly as I bend down and pull him to his feet. We sway to one side for a second while I try to balance the weight of his deadweight body leaning against mine.

"Damon?" He slurs, his eyes fluttering open.

"Are you ever going to stop this?"

"I miss her, Damon."

I ignore him because I know he is talking about my Mom and I don't want to talk about that. "You need to start acting like an adult."

He shoves me off him angrily. "I am an adult." I watch as he stumbles across the yard, almost tripping over his own clumsy drunken feet.

"You're pathetic." Here we go, the same fight we always have. "You know what, you can get your own ass to bed. Have a nice sleep in the yard by the trash where you belong."

My reaction is too slow. His arm swings and he throws the glass of whiskey in my direction and before I have a chance to duck it goes crashing into my head.

"Jesus," I gasp in pain and fall back against the trailer as the bottle smashes by my feet. I clutch my forehead in pain, looking up just in time to see my Dad stumble forward onto the grass like the pathetic specimen that he is.

Apparently that was too much effort for him for one night.

I pull my hand back to see a little bit of blood and I storm away. I can't help it, I kick him in the back on my way past and he groans in a mixture of pain and drunken slurs.

He can choke to death in his own vomit for all I care.

I grab my bike and peddle as fast as I can without looking back.

* * *

I can't sleep.

I can't get the smell of burning smoke out of my nostrils. The strong kind, not the campfire kind.

The kind of smell that comes from your whole house burning down with your family trapped in it.

I sit up in the darkness because I feel like I can't breathe. It's so damn hot. September is almost over but the weather still feels like August.

I push my duvet from over my legs and pull on some pants. I need to get some fresh air.

I quietly sneak out of my bedroom and down the stairs. The house is in complete darkness and silence and it seems like everyone is sleep. I glance at the time to see that it's almost two AM.

My original plan was just to sit outside on the porch but my legs keep walking. I want to get as far away from that house as possible.

It's the only place that I have to call home but it doesn't feel like my home. I don't belong there and we all know it.

I don't know how long I've been walking for but it's definitely been a while. My feet are starting to hurt but I don't have it in my to turn back just yet.

I don't recognise where I am, and I realize that I am probably all the way across town by now. I see what looks like a small park in the distance and I decide to take refuge there for a little while to give my feet a break.

When I walk through the gate and head along the footpath I see what looks like an old basketball court, there is one streetlight that lights it up and I freeze when I see someone already there sitting on top of a picnic table.

I'm about to turn around and walk away quickly because I doubt anything good will come from seeing someone in the middle of the night in an abandoned play park. However just as I am about to turn around, the figure looks up in my direction.

"Elena?"

I freeze.

They know me?

I take a couple of steps forward and my heart starts to pound fast when I see who it is.

"Damon?"

I hear him let out a dry laugh as he shakes his head and before I even know it I'm standing in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. A girl like you shouldn't be out on her own at this time of night, especially at this part of town."

I'm about to reply with a snarky comment of what does he mean by a girl like me? But he looks up and that's when I see the gash on his forehead by his eyebrow.

"Oh my god, what happened?" My body moves into autopilot and I realize I now have both of my hands on his face as I inspect the cut.

"Stefan's been out with his football again." He makes light of it and I glare at him. "I fell off my bike." He motions to the BMX a few feet away and I pull back.

"It looks nasty, you should probably go and get it checked out."

Damon shakes his head. "I'll be okay."

I nod silently and climb on to the picnic table beside him, both of our feet resting on the bench below.

"So, tell me, Elena, what brings you here tonight?" His tone is light, almost playful.

"I couldn't sleep."

"So you decided to walk three miles away from your house?"

I blink surprised because I even though I realized I had walked far, I didn't realize it was _that_ far.

So instead of telling him that I just shrug casually, "looks like it." He chuckles slightly and I turn my head to look at him. Trying to ignore the way the street light in the distance shines off his dark hair and makes his eyes glow. "Why are you here?"

"I come here all the time. This is kind of my spot. You're lucky I'm letting you share it with me."

I can't fight the smile that creeps on to my lips. "How generous of you."

"I'm a generous guy," he winks at me and I my cheeks heat up. Luckily it's too dark for him to notice. "You know, we have to stop meeting in the dark like this." Damon continues lightly. "People will start to talk."

I laugh and nod in agreement. "It does seem to be becoming a regular occurrence, however, in my defence it seems to be the only time I can get your attention."

Damon twists around to face me slightly and I try to ignore the way his knee brushes against mine. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, you are a very hard guy to track down you know."

"You've been looking for me?" He raises his eyebrow and I curse myself for leaving myself wide open like this.

"Maybe."

He smirks and I watch as he bites his bottom lip for a second and I wonder if he knows how hot he is. Then again, from the cocky look on his face I realize he definitely knows it.

"I've been a busy boy." He explains with a cheeky smile and I shake my head with a small laugh.

"I'm sure you have."

He grins and we fall into a comfortable silence. I feel relaxed, which is a nice change.

The smell of smoke has gone too.

"I haven't seen you either since dinner with the teachers last weekend." Damon breaks the silence. "I'm not the only one who is hard to find."

"Maybe you've just been looking in all of the wrong places." I look up and his bright blue eyes are staring into mine intently.

"Maybe I have been." Damon whispers back and for a moment we just sit there looking at each other. It's like time is standing still.

Damon is the first person to look away, and he twists back to face forward with a smile. "You're different, you know." He states simply and I look at him bemused.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Absolutely." He nods with a smile. "I figured you would be like Katherine, what with you being family and all, but it turns out you are the complete opposite."

For a moment I wonder if that's actually a compliment. Damon dated Katherine, which means he obviously had to like her at some point.

He must realize my train of thought because he laughs and his hand lands on my knee, causing my heart to stop.

"I was naïve when I got into a relationship with her. She's the most popular girl in school, and me dating her made my life a hell of a lot easier, trust me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask confused because I don't see how a guy like Damon would struggle through high school.

I'm surprised by the disappointment that I feel when Damon removes his hand from my knee, "I'm what they call _trailer trash_." My eyes widen in shock because I don't know why but I just figured he was another rich kid.

How wrong was I.

"Don't look at me like that, what, do you think I cleaned tables and washed cars just for the fun of it?" He asks me amused.

"It's not that…I just hate that term…Bonnie told me about it. It sucks."

"It's Mystic Falls." Damon replies like that should make it all okay.

Well it doesn't.

It's not okay.

"I don't care where you live. If I want to be friends with someone, I'll be friends with them for them."

Damon smiles. "You want to be my friend, huh?"

I silently curse and Damon chuckles. I let out a loud sigh and turn back to face him. "I suppose you're not all bad."

"Thanks, I think that's the nicest thing you have ever said to me since we met." I can't help but laugh now too and Damon nudges my arm with his. "I feel like I should probably warn you though, I'm a difficult person to be friends with right now."

I smile because somehow that doesn't surprise me.

Instead of telling him that, I look back at him dead in the eye and for a second his own blue eyes take my breath away until I find my voice again.

"That's good, because I'm kind of difficult to be friends with right now too. It looks like we match."

Damon's smile widens.

"Looks like we do."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought about this one :)**

 **A big thank you to everyone who has left a review so far, it really does mean a lot! The next chapter will be posted early in the New Year, watch out for it because it's a big one! ;)**

 **Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

 **Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone has had a good festive period. Here's the next chapter to bring this fic into 2017...**

* * *

"Come on, it's a simple question - basketball or football?" I question Lucas intently as we sit in a booth at The Grill.

"Football." Stefan answers immediately for him. "It's in his genes, you are the only one in the family who had to be different."

I roll my eyes but I can't deny that it's true. My Dad, before things went really bad, used to often tell us stories about his football glory days in High School. Our grandfather played too, and our great-grandfather and the grandfather before that and so on so on.

It's a Salvatore tradition, which was why his face was a picture when I showed up at six years old with a basketball I found in the park gripped tightly between my hands while demanding that he plays with me.

"Ummmm…" Lucas presses his finger against his chin as he thinks the question over very seriously. "I don't know." He states finally. "I like them both."

"No, no, no." I shake my head, not accepting that response as an answer. "You have to choose."

"I don't have to choose." Lucas replies simply and I look at Stefan in disbelief. Is he really six?

"Okay, so you don't have to choose." I give in but only a little. "But lets just say hypothetically you had to pick just one…what would you pick?"

"You're unbelievable." Stefan fires back at me amused and I shrug. "Give the kid a break."

"Maybe I'll pick baseball then." Lucas answers and this time both our eyes widen. "I like baseball. We played it at school today."

"What?!" I look at him in disbelief. "Are you even my little brother?"

"Yeah, who are you?" Stefan squeezes his cheeks playfully so Lucas giggles and tries to pull away. "No baseball, okay? I'd rather you play basketball than baseball."

"Listen to your brother," I point my finger at him sternly but the smile on my face shows that I am just joking. I stand up and slide out of the booth. "On that note, I have to get back to work." I ruffle his hair before pressing a kiss on top of Emma's head who is totally oblivious to our conversation as she scribbles in her colouring book with her crayons.

I grab my apron and wrap it around my waist, pulling out my notepad from my back pocket when I hear someone call my name.

I turn around to see Elena approaching me and my smile widens. "Hey you." I give her a little wave as she stops in front of me.

After our little middle of the night meeting the other day, Elena and I have become something close to being friends. We only share a few classes at school so between basketball and work, I don't get to see her much, but when I do it is always pleasant.

In fact, it always ends up being one of my most favourite parts of the day.

"Hi." She smiles softly before taking in my appearance. "Are you ever not working?" She raises her eyebrow at me somewhat amused.

I shrug with a smile. "I just love my pushy overbearing boss so much that I can't stay away."

"Right," She nods with a smile. "What time do you finish? Soon, I hope?"

I suck in a breath and press my eyebrows together. "Sorry…I'm here until closing unfortunately."

"Damn." Elena looks disappointed and that causes my heart rate to pick up. "I was hoping maybe I could steal some of your precious time to get you to hang out with me for a little while."

"How about tomorrow?" I offer immediately, not even thinking about anything else. Elena's eyes widen at my sudden offer and now I'm kicking myself for sounding far too keen and desperate.

"I can do tomorrow." Elena answers with a soft smile, immediately calming down my doubts.

"Perfect." I smile and she returns it. We stand here for a moment and I can't help but take in how beautiful she is. Her hair flows down past her shoulders in waves and her dark eyes are shining bright.

If you didn't know any better, there was no way in hell that you would believe that this is the same girl who just lost her entire family a couple of months ago.

"How are you holding up?" The question slips from my lips before I can help it and it's like the shine in her eyes suddenly dim. I curse myself for reminding her of her grief. Suddenly she looks like she has the entire weight of the world back on her shoulders.

"Fine."

"It's okay not to be okay."

"I'm _fine_."

The silence between us turns awkward and uncomfortable and I wish I could turn back time. Luckily for once in my life, my asshole boss shouts my name from the bar to get back to work.

I nod, turning back to Elena briefly. "See you then." I turn on my heel, cringing at myself, especially when she doesn't reply. God I can be such an idiot sometimes.

* * *

"What was that about?" Caroline comes up beside me before looping her arm through mine. She guides me across The Grill towards the pool tables where Matt and Tyler are playing.

"Huh?" I play dumb but I'm pretty sure I have an idea of what she is about to say. "What?"

"Damon," Caroline rolls her eyes at me and I glance over briefly at Matt and Tyler who are too far away to hear this conversation. "I didn't know you talked to him."

"I don't." I answer immediately. "I mean…not really. He seems like a nice enough guy though."

"He's also your cousins ex-boyfriend," Caroline tells me pointedly and I frown at the reminder.

"Look, just because I speak more than two words to a guy doesn't automatically mean I want to sleep with him you know." My voice is harsher than intended but I don't care as long as I get my point across.

First Caroline thinks I like Matt and now I like Damon?

"That's not what I mean," Caroline waves off my comment. "You talking to Damon doesn't look good."

"Look good to who?" I ask baffled. "Who cares if I talk to Damon or not."

"Katherine," Caroline replies in frustration. "Katherine will care." She pulls a face that I don't understand before stepping closer to me. "She's your cousin, and that only makes things worse. Trust me, the last girl who had a _thing_ with Damon Salvatore had to move schools because of her."

"There is nothing going on between us!"

"That doesn't matter to her. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm not. I'm trying to look out for you. You've been through a lot," I look away at the brief mention of my loss. "The last thing you need is any trouble at school _and_ at home."

"I think you're overreacting."

"I'm not." Caroline replies so sternly that it actually takes me aback. "I've been friends with Katherine since kindergarten and I am telling you now, if she sees you hanging out with Damon she will try to make your life hell and you don't deserve that."

I swallow hard. "Nobody deserves that."

"Katherine doesn't care. Ask Aimee Bradley if you don't believe me, that's if you can even find her. I hear she barely leaves the house now."

"Why are you friends with her if she is such a horrible person?" I ask in disbelief. "Why does she get away with it? She drove a girl to another school? How can she even do that?"

"She's Katherine." Caroline replies like that's supposed to mean something to me. "You're new to town but you will learn how things go around here. I'm not saying I agree, I'm not saying you're supposed to like it. But going along with it will sure as hell make your life a lot easier. So I'm warning you, as a _friend_ , stay away from Damon Salvatore."

The warning is clear in her tone and I can only stand there flabbergasted as she brushes past me towards Matt and Tyler.

I look back across The Grill where Damon is standing clearing a table and my stomach flutters nervously.

I don't want to stay away from Damon.

I also don't want to make an enemy of the most popular girl in school either…who I also happen to sleep under the same roof as.

* * *

"Hey," I see Elena standing outside of the school and jog over to her with a smile. I wonder if she knows how beautiful she is? I can't help having these thoughts. There is just something about this girl that I can't get out of my head.

"Hi," She smiles at me once I reach her but I don't miss the way she shifts awkwardly on her feet and looks over her shoulder.

"I've been looking for you everywhere today, and you say I'm the hard one to track down." I tease with a smile and my stomach drops when Elena barely returns it. "Do you still want to hang out later? I have to go pick the twins up from their after-school club but I'll only be an hour or so if you want to meet somewhere after?"

"Um…" I see her cringe and I'm already preparing for the rejection. "I uh…sorry but-"

"Elena!" She is cut off as Matt Donovan suddenly appears behind her. I can't hide my frown as his hand lands on her shoulder and I look between them. "Sorry I'm late, coach wanted to speak to me. Are you ready to go?" He looks between us a little confused. "Hey Damon, what's up?"

"Donovan." I reply through gritted teeth. It's not like I don't like the kid, in fact, I barely know him other than knowing he plays on the football team with Stefan.

The guilt is plastered all over Elena's face and that says it all. I hold back a scoff and take a step back.

"See you both later." I turn on my heel and walk away.

"Damon! Damon, wait!" Elena calls after me, she speed walks a few steps as I reluctantly turn around. "I uh…I'm sorry." She bites on her bottom lip nervously and I can see the guilt in her eyes but I don't care.

"Sure." I nod at her calmly but inside I'm seething. "Enjoy your night, Elena."

I leave before she can say anything else. Of course a girl like Elena doesn't want to be seen hanging out with me.

She's a Gilbert after all and all I am is trailer trash.

* * *

I can't get Damon out of my head.

I feel terrible.

It's not like I intentionally wanted to ditch our plans, but I couldn't get Caroline's words about Katherine out of my head. At first I was determined to ignore it, I could be friends with whoever I wanted to be friends with and I wasn't going to let anyone stop that.

But then I woke up this morning and Katherine gave me the iciest glare that sent a cold shiver down my spine. It was like she _knew_. So I did a little digging, a little discreet questions to both Tyler and Matt who I figured would be the least likely to ask me questions about _my_ questions.

I asked them about what happened to this girl I heard some rumours about. I asked them about Aimee Bradley.

Tyler was the most helpful. I don't think Matt wanted to tell me much with Katherine being my cousin but Tyler didn't have a problem with that. He explained that Katherine and her friends made Aimee's life hell when they found out she slept with Katherine's boyfriend.

 _Damon Salvatore_.

Tyler said that it was every day in which they found a new way to humiliate her.

" _It went way beyond girls just being bitchy girls. It was nasty bullying, simple as that. It was borderline evil actually. I don't know how they got away with it."_

" _Why didn't anyone stop it?"_

" _Katherine and her friends are the most popular crowd in school. The teachers were oblivious until it was too late and nobody else stopped it because it meant that they weren't the ones being targeted. It's fear. It sucks, but I can't blame them. Nobody wants to be bullied, no one wants to be the victim. Better it be someone else than it to be you. Let's just say Aimee moving schools was the best thing to happen to her."_

I dwelled on his words all afternoon. I wouldn't be able to move schools, and even if I did what would it matter when I literally share a house with the ring leader.

I wouldn't be able to escape it.

I don't think I can handle any more kind of pain.

So when Matt approached me before last period asking if I wanted to grab dinner with him after school, I figured it would be the perfect excuse to stay away from Damon.

I just didn't realize how awful it would make me feel.

"Aww are you two on a date?"

I look up and it's Katherine. How does she do that?

"Hey Katherine," Matt greets her with a polite smile. "Do you want to join us?"

"No thanks, I'm here with friends. Maybe next time." She winks at him and I shake my head in disbelief before she turns to face me. "Matt Donovan huh? I approve." She smirks and I just want a hole to appear underneath me to swallow me up.

"We're just friends." I hit back, my voice a lot colder than I planned it to be. Matt looks between us awkwardly but I don't say anything else.

Katherine holds my gaze in an intense stare before her smirk widens. "Of course." Her voice is too nice, too fake. "I'll see you at home, Elena. Bye Matt." I watch as she touches his shoulder, her hand trailing down his arm before she walks away and I clench my jaw and take a sip from my drink.

"Okay, so what was that all about?" Matt asks me curiously.

I shrug. "I don't know. It's Katherine…why does she do anything that she does? Because she's a bitch." I tell him bluntly. "That's why."

"Whoa, where did that come from?" He looks a little amused but also surprised by my words. "Do you two not get along?"

"Not really, no." I answer coldly.

"She's okay once you get to know her, sort of." He smiles slightly and I look at him in disbelief.

"How can you say that knowing all of the things you know about her?" I ask him in disbelief. "Knowing what she did to that poor girl."

"Okay," Matt leans forward, his voice quiet. "That _poor_ girl wasn't exactly an angel herself. Trust me, I should know, I used to date her." My eyes widen at his words. Maybe that was why he was so reluctant to talk about her today. "Katherine was hurt, they were good friends and she cheated with her boyfriend."

"Did she cheat on you with Damon too?" I ask stunned, my stomach swirling with nerves. I didn't notice any animosity between their brief encounter earlier but that doesn't mean anything. I wasn't really paying much attention to Matt anyway to notice if there was.

"No." Matt shakes his head. "We had already broken up by that point but because she had cheated on me before with another dude. I'm just saying, there are two sides to every story. Katherine is really not _that_ bad."

"I didn't realize the two of you were friends." The words come out a lot bitter than intended. It's not that I'm jealous or anything, it's more of the fact that I'm shocked someone like Matt could ever defend someone like Katherine.

Then again, Caroline is becoming a fast friend of mine and she's friends with Katherine too. Maybe they are both right. Maybe I'm pre-judging her wrong far too soon.

"We grew up together," Matt shrugs casually. "Just…give her a chance. She might surprise you."

"Yeah," I lean back in my chair and look across The Grill where she is sitting laughing with her cheerleading friends. "Maybe." She looks so carefree, so happy and free.

I hate that I feel jealous of that.

* * *

"What are you doing home, I thought you had plans tonight?" Stefan walks into the trailer all sweaty from his extra football practice. He's out of breath and I look at him questionably. "What? I ran home, I'm trying to get my fitness up." He explains self-consciously.

I let out a laugh and shake my head in disbelief. "Brother, your fitness is the best I've ever seen. Trust me."

Stefan shrugs and slumps down on the couch beside me, still breathless as he chugs down the rest of his water. "There's always room for improvement. I need to be the best to get us out of this mess." He looks around the quiet trailer confused. "Where's the twins? Where's Dad?"

"The twins are next door with Mrs Stevens, Emma drew her a picture at school that won first prize in some competition so they wanted to go and show her. I haven't seen Dad, I'm guessing he's at Jacks…or lying in a ditch somewhere."

"This is why I'm training extra hard, Damon. I want to go pro. I want to make sure that Luke and Emma don't have to live like this for the rest of their lives. I want to make their life better, I want to make all of our lives better." Stefan tells me passionately, his eyes staring down at his feet in a thoughtful gaze.

I smile as a wave of pride takes over me. Stefan has always been determined, he's always been driven and passionate but every day I see him becoming a better man and I couldn't be more proud.

"You know, when you say shit like that you make me think that maybe you aren't such a dick after all." I smirk at him and Stefan bursts out laughing.

"When I say shit like that and that's how you reply, you remind me that you really _are_ a dick." Stefan elbows me in the side and I chuckle and push him away. "So, you never did answer my question. What are you doing home? I rushed all the way back here so the twins weren't by themselves with Dad for too long."

"My plans were cancelled."

Stefan looks at me suspiciously. "Was it a date?"

"Nope."

"It was, wasn't it." He smirks at me. "Come on, whose the unlucky lady and what did you do to piss her off already?"

I let out a tiny laugh despite myself. "It wasn't a date." I tell him firmly. "And even if it was, it doesn't matter anymore because she completely blew me off."

"Ouch, what did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"Damon…"

"I didn't do anything." I defend myself. "In fact…your buddy Matt Donovan got there first."

Stefan's eyes widen surprised. "Really?"

"Yup. It seems like we share the same taste in women." I scoff because of course it's absolutely typical. "Naturally, he's the better catch. Why would you want some trailer trash like me when you can get Mr Rich and Popular."

Stefan laughs. "Matt's a decent guy."

"I know, that's what makes it even worse. I can't even hate him. It's them damn blue eyes of his."

Stefan smirks and shakes his head. "Besides, we won't be trailer trash forever. Like I said, I'm going to get the best scholarship possible and I'm going to kick ass at college football and before you know it I'll be rich and famous baby!"

"Well I'm rooting for ya, kid."

We are interrupted by Stefan's cellphone ringing. He looks down at the screen with a cringe. "Great, it's work. I bet they want me to come in." He answers the phone and just as predicted it seems like they need him for a shift. He looks down at me before he gives them an answer. "I know it was my turn to watch the twins tonight, but do you think maybe we could trade?"

"Sure." I nod my head, Stefan smiles before telling his boss he'll be there in an hour. "I'll go and head over to Mrs Steven's to get them before they drive her crazy."

Stefan nods and grabs his helmet for his moped. "If you're lucky I'll bring you back a pizza."

"Oh you spoil me, brother. You really spoil me!" I tease him and Stefan flips me the bird with a cheeky grin before heading out.

* * *

Mrs Steven's kindly offered to keep the twins for the evening, something about promising them a movie marathon and not wanting to wake them up when they inevitably fall asleep on her couch.

I argued a little, not wanting to put her out but she insisted. Honestly, I think she absolutely loves the company. She only has one daughter who lives in Canada with her husband and their kids so she rarely gets to see them.

She treats Luke and Emma like they are her own grandchildren and we are so damn lucky for that.

I decide to make use of my new spare time and head over to the old basketball court to get some practice in.

I bounce the ball hard against the old tarmac. I focus, reaching my arms up in the air and taking the shot. It flys into the net easily.

"Nice shot."

I tense at the sound of _that_ voice.

"Katherine." Her name comes out like a snarl as I turn around to face her. She's smirking at me, dressed head to toe in black. She is wearing long black leather boots up to her knees, black skinny jeans, a black tight shirt with a black leather jacket.

I used to find that hot but I don't anymore.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you of course, why else would I come over to this side of town." She looks around the abandoned basketball court with distaste. "You do know they have rebuilt one of these things by the town square, right?"

Yes I do know. It's all new and improved and stylish.

"I prefer this one."

"You always did like it rough." She winks at me and I roll my eyes.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see what you were up too. If you wanted to maybe come back to my place with me?"

"No thanks." I reply coldly before turning back around. I bounce the ball a few times before taking the shot, watching again as it flys through the net.

"Do you ever miss?" Katherine presses her hand against my back and I tense.

"No."

"You always were the best." Her hand runs down my spine. "I'm bored. Come home with me."

"I said no." I walk forward so her hand is no longer touching me. I pick up the ball and bounce it between us, almost like it's a barrier separating us.

"Does this have anything to do with my sweet innocent little cousin, Elena?"

I tense, I almost drop the ball but I redeem myself. It's too late though, because judging from the look on Katherine's face she caught my stumble.

"You know she's on a date with Matt Donovan right now." My jaw clenches. "They're in The Grill, not the best place for a first date I'll admit but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, they looked very cosy. I even saw them kissing."

My stomach clenches tightly but knowing Katherine there is a high percent chance that she is lying.

"Why are you telling me this? I don't care."

"Of course you don't." Katherine laughs but nothing about her tone is amused.

"I barely know the girl."

"Right," she takes a step towards me. "But you _want_ to get to know her, don't you? I've been watching you, Damon, I see the way you look at her."

"God I knew you were obsessed with me, Katherine, but stalking? That's a little much, don't you think?"

She lets out a dry laugh. "You would like that wouldn't you? You would like me to be all heartbroken over you and pining after you. That would feed your sick ego just right, huh?"

I shrug silently. Honestly, it's not true. I couldn't give a damn what Katherine does as long as she's no longer in my life. That doesn't mean I want her to know that.

"Fine. I'll let you have this one, Damon. I don't want you anywhere near Elena. I don't care what other girls you fuck, but you don't fuck her, got it?"

I hate how blunt her words are. I want to tell her that even if Elena were interested in me, she would never be just a fuck.

I bite my tongue and stop myself from saying what I want to say. "Or what?"

"Or…" she takes another step closer and snatches the ball from my hands. "I'll make your life a living hell. You got off easy the last time but if you cross me again I will ruin your life." She bounces the ball once, twice, three times before she takes a shot.

It misses, of course, but Katherine doesn't seem to care. Instead she faces me with an innocent smile like she hasn't just threatened me and shrugs.

"Looks like I need a little practice." She turns to leave but pauses. "Maybe I'll ask Mason Lockwood to help me. I've been sleeping with him, by the way, have been for a little while now." She lets out an amused laugh and my jaw tightens angrily. "I was even sleeping him while I was sleeping with you, how funny is that?"

I clench my fists into a ball but don't say anything.

"I must have a thing for basketball players." She presses her finger against her lips with an 'innocent' smile. "Huh, interesting, I always did prefer football myself. I'll see you around, Damon." She walks off into the distance and I stay standing completely still.

It's not until she's completely out of sight when I grab the ball and throw it angrily off the ground, letting it bounce harshly away from me.

God I hate that bitch.

No longer in the mood to practice, I start to make the short walk home. It's a little chilly tonight, reminding me that summer is officially over so I speed up my walk.

It's already dark and now that my body has lost all adrenaline I just want to climb in to my bed and sleep.

I walk through the trailer park, occasionally bouncing my ball in front of me. I turn the corner into our cul-de-sac and frown when I see police lights.

It's not completely unusual to see the cops here, in fact, it's quite a regular occurrence.

But this time it feels different.

It only takes me a few more steps forward to see that the police cars are parked outside of my trailer.

My chest seizes with panic and I start running, leaving my basketball abandoned.

I reach the car in panic and there are two police officers standing in my yard, my head is all over the place that it takes me a second to see who they are talking too.

Mrs Stevens.

"Oh my god." My stomach clenches, my heart pounding.

The three of them all turn to face me and I gasp when I notice that Mrs Steven's crying. "The twins. Where are the twins?"I wheeze out breathlessly.

No, no, no. This can't be happening.

"Damon!" I turn around and see Enzo, he's in Mrs Steven's yard. The blue lights are flashing into my eyes giving me a headache.

I can't breathe.

"Damon…" Mrs Stevens takes a step towards me. "Son…"

I swallow hard, my body shaking with panic. "Where are they?"

"Mr Salvatore?" One of the police officers looks at me sympathetically. "We need to speak to your father urgently. Do you know where he is?"

I shake my head no. Of course I don't fucking know where he is! Why is no one telling me where the twins are?

"Where are the twins?!" My voice comes out in a roar. Why is nobody answering me?!

"The twins are fine, Damon. They are both asleep inside." Mrs Stevens tells me softly. Her hand touches my arm and I frown confused.

My body sinks in relief. "They're okay?" She nods but her eyes are still full of hurt and sympathy. I frown confused. "But…" I look at the cops and then the flashing lights. "What is…" I shake my head in disarray.

I don't understand.

"Damon…"

It hits me suddenly like a steam train.

"No…" I whisper. My heart feels like it's about to rip out of my chest. It hurts. I can't breathe. "No…no…" I shake my head furiously. "No!"

"Damon," Enzo is suddenly next to me. "Damon listen…"

"I'm so sorry, son." One of the cops is now here too but my eyes are blurred and I don't understand. "There was an accident and Stefan-."

"No." I shake my head back and forth cutting him off before he can finish _that_ sentence. "No you're wrong! I just saw him…he's at work…he's working tonight…" I pull out my cellphone with shaky hands. "I'll call him, okay? You're wrong. You've got the wrong guy!"

"Damon." Enzo shakes his head and I'm taken aback from the tears in his eyes. I've known Enzo since I was three years old and I don't think I have ever seen him cry. "I'm so sorry…he was out on a delivery…he was on his moped and…I'm sorry." He gently pulls my phone from my shaking hands.

"No." A sob escapes my lips and suddenly I can't feel my feet. I drop down to my knees, Enzo following me. "No…he's not dead…he's not dead."

I feel a pair of arms wrap around me from behind and I don't even know who they belong to.

All I can feel is unbearable pain. I hear a wail, and a loud cry, it's loud.

It's so loud.

It takes me a moment to realize that it's coming from me.

I feel sick. I feel like I am about to throw up.

My twin brother, my best friend, is dead.

Stefan's dead.

* * *

 **So did anyone see that one coming? I hope you liked it and I did warn to say it was going to be a big important chapter! ;)**

 **I hope you all enjoyed it, please let me know your thoughts I'm dying to read your opinions on this twist to the story!**

 **Thanks again for reading :)**

 **Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

 **Big big thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter! I always get a little nervous posting those kind of chapters out because I know there will be a mixed reaction but you guys are super supportive so thank you! :)**

 **There's a little bit of Enzo's POV in this chapter…hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

I stand back in the hallway as I see a small crowd gathered around what was Stefan Salvatore's locker.

His funeral is today, but the family have requested that it's to be a closed ceremony so the school have decided to have their own memorial for him here.

There's going to be a 'talk' later in the gymnasium hall, to honour his memory and for everyone to discuss their feelings and to grieve together. I wonder how many people attending will actually discuss their feelings, and if so, how many of those are actually genuine.

I stand back as the vigil by Stefan's locker continues. It's mostly girls who are standing there, tears in their eyes as they hold a candle between their manicured fingers.

I wonder if my old school did something like this for Jeremy when the new semester started. I wonder if they had organised a vigil and had decorated his locker. I wonder if the principle called for a group grieving session in the gymnasium in his honour.

God, I hope not. Jeremy would have hated it. He had his small group of friends and that's all he wanted. He wasn't popular, nor did he want to be. I wonder how those guys are, I wonder if their still hurting or if they have already moved on with their lives.

I wonder what Stefan would think of this? I really don't know a lot about him. The only time I had ever spoken to him or spent time with him was that day his little sister got hit by the football in the park.

I swallow hard as I think about Lucas and Emma. They are so young. How are they going to cope and understand all of this? How are they going to grasp the fact that they will never be able to see their brother again?

"It's sickening isn't it."

I turn my head to see Enzo standing beside me, his eyes focussed on the small crowd by the lockers. His eyes are hard, a scowl covering his face.

"Look at them. This isn't about Stefan. This is about them and who can look the most upset." Enzo sounds bitter and cold. His tone laced with disgust.

I spot Katherine amongst the crowd, she's one of the ones holding a candle and there is a girl quietly sobbing into her shoulder. Katherine isn't crying, which doesn't surprise me but part of me is wondering why she isn't using this opportunity to put on her own show.

"People handle grief in different ways." The words come out of my lips rehearsed. I have heard that sentence so many times over the last couple of months that I feel inclined to say it myself.

"It's a mockery." Enzo snaps back. "None of them knew him, not really. They only saw Stefan Salvatore the football star. They didn't want to see past that. They know nothing about him."

I swallow hard and nod in agreement but I can't say anything else.

I didn't know him either.

"How's Damon?"

It's the question I have been dying to ask someone since I first found out the news. How awful is that? The first thing I thought about when I found out about Stefan's death was how his brother was doing?

Enzo tenses for a second, a split second – if I wasn't looking at him I would have completely missed it. Instead of answering truthfully, he shrugs. "As well as to be expected."

There is another cliched answer that I am used to hearing. I don't push or question Enzo any further because we both know he's not going to tell me the truth anyway.

* * *

I pick up an empty bottle of bourbon and shove it into a black plastic trash bag. The entire trailer is a mess and if I don't clear it up nobody else will.

"Damon, can I have some ice cream?." I don't turn around. "You promised we could go out for ice cream today."

"Sorry Luke, not today."

"Damon, you promised!"

"I know and I'm sorry but not today, okay? We'll go tomorrow." I continue to pick up empty bottles and food wrappers from the kitchen counter.

"Stefan would take me!" Luke shouts and I tense.

"Well Stefan isn't here." I hiss back through gritted teeth, willing myself to stay calm.

I hear a childlike frustrated groan come from behind me and I slowly turn around. He looks devastated but also frighteningly angry for a six year old.

"Where's Emma?" I ignore his small tantrum.

"She's playing in her room."

"Okay, well go play with her then. I'm busy."

"You're mean!" Lucas cries at me before turning around and running into his bedroom. He slams the door hard behind me and I curse.

I run my fingers through my hair tiredly but I don't chase after him. Stefan's funeral was this morning and my head is all over the place. The whole thing felt like an out of body experience.

I feel like a zombie. I have felt like a shell since that night. I thought I knew what pain was, I thought I had lived it, I thought I had learned how to deal with it.

I thought I had it down.

I was so wrong.

I can feel it lingering in the back of my mind. It's there, aching to escape but I keep pushing it back.

I don't have time to grieve.

I can't bring him back. Wherever Stefan is, he's not coming back – ever.

I haven't slept in days, between looking after the twins, dealing with my drunk Dad and trying to organise the funeral I just haven't had the time.

The door swings open, pulling me from my thoughts. My Dad stumbles through, tripping over and falling against my bedroom door. He curses and takes a swig from his can of beer, crushing it in his hands before dropping it onto the floor.

My jaw tightens.

"I'm trying to clean this place up." My voice sounds unfamiliar. It's cold and distant. "I don't need you coming in here and making it a mess again. Think of the twins."

My Dad replies by kicking the can across the floor so it lands by my feet. I scoff and shake my head. He stumbles past me and lands in his arm chair. His shirt is wrinkly, his tie loose. Honestly, I was surprised he even made it to the funeral.

He has been on a bender ever since he found out the news, some days he couldn't even speak he was that drunk.

"Grab me a beer, will ya?" It comes out more like an order. Part of me wants to tell him no, to tell him he's had enough or to get off his lazy ass and get it himself.

However I don't want to upset the twins anymore than necessary and if I say what I want to say it's only going to cause more shit.

So, like the abiding son I am, I pull out a beer from the fridge and toss it over to him. He catches it, but only barely. He looks up at me with a glare but doesn't say anything.

So I get back to cleaning, by the time I have finished Dad is passed out in his chair and I pick up his near empty bottle and throw it into the trash. I pick out the plastic bag and tie it in a knot before heading outside. I drop it into the metal can, ignoring stares from some of our neighbours sitting out front.

I'm about to head back inside when I hear my name being called. I frown, turning around surprised and also annoyed to see Miss Sommers standing by our metal gate.

"What are you doing here?" I cross the yard quickly, willing her not to come any further.

She smiles at me sympathetically. I clench my jaw, I don't need or want her pity. "Would you believe me if I said I was in the neighbourhood?"I stay silent and she sighs loudly. "I'm here to see how you are doing?"

"Fine." I answer sharply. "You can go now."

She smiles sadly. "It was his funeral today." She states simply.

"I know."

"The school are holding a memorial for him this afternoon in the gymnasium. I think it would be nice if you came."

I feel my eyebrows scrunch together. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am, Damon. Stefan was a big part of our school…he was loved by a lot of people, myself included."

"Give me a break, nobody gave a shit about him as long as he was scoring touchdowns and winning games to cover for the rest of that crappy team."

"That's not true." Jenna tilts her head at me. "I understand that you're angry, hurt, upset. You've lost not only your brother, but your twin. I can't even imagine how that must feel."

My whole body is tense. "What is this?" I change the subject. "Why are you here? If it really is to try and convince me to come to this stupid memorial then don't bother. I've been to enough funerals today."

She nods in understanding and that only makes me more mad. I need her to leave. She shouldn't be here.

"Is your Dad home?"

I grit my teeth together. "No."

She looks at me carefully. "The twins?"

"No." I hiss coldly. "They are out with my Dad – getting ice cream."

Jenna nods slowly and I can't tell if she has accepted my answer. "Do you mind if I come inside and wait for him to get back? I would really like to speak to him."

"Why?" I ask harshly. My heart is pounding against my chest. I have managed to avoid any authority figures this past week with the exception of the police who just figured my Dad was drunk because his son has just died.

"I would like to see how he is doing. It would be nice to discuss with him when you're ready to come back to school too."

"Stefan's funeral was today. Now is not the time." I'm angry. Is she serious? I just buried my twin brother this morning and she wants to come here to try and get me to go back to school?

She shakes her head as if she has realized her mistake. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. You know what, you're right. I'll come back another time."

"Don't bother." I snap at her angrily.

"Damon, I am so sorry for your loss." I swallow at the look on her face. She looks sad. "Stefan was a good kid. He didn't deserve to go so young. Please, I know you probably think you can handle this on your own but just know that I'm here if you ever want to talk, okay? You can call me day or night or come by the house. Whatever you need. That comes from Mr Saltzman too."

I don't reply. I nod but only to get her to leave. She does, finally, but not before glancing over my shoulder.

I turn around to see Emma standing in the doorway, her teddy bear clutched under her arm. I silently curse but when I turn back around Mrs Sommers is already in her car.

* * *

"Elena," I look up surprised to see Katherine standing in my doorway. "There's a party tonight by The Falls, do you want to come?" I look at her flabbergasted. Katherine has never invited me anywhere before, especially a party. She rolls her eyes at the look on my face. "Caroline's coming, she told me to ask you."

Ah, well that makes much more sense.

"Sure." I nod simply and Katherine is out of my room as quickly as she came in. I wonder what kind of clothes would be appropriate so I just stick with a simple navy shirt and dark skinny jeans. I touch up on my makeup and by the time I'm ready Katherine is shouting through my closed bedroom door that our ride is outside.

The girl driving, Amber, I believe she's called, barely says hello to me when I climb into the back of her red range rover. Luckily for me, Caroline is already sitting in the backseat.

"Hey girl." Her smile is wide but the twinkle is missing from her eyes. I know she's upset about Stefan, even though she is trying desperately to hide it. I'm still not certain on what their relationship/friendship was all about, but there was definitely _something_ lingering between them.

Or at least, there used to be.

"I'm so excited for this party." Amber chats quickly in the front seat. "I need to have fun. School has been so depressing this week, I'm so over all of the sulking."

My jaw drops and I look at Caroline who is silently seething. Amber continues to babble on and on about how she's going to go extra wild tonight and that she hopes Ethan from the football team will take her home…

Katherine goes along with it, nodding in all of the right places and speaking up when needs be but even she seems uninterested. Her eyes are glued to her phone and she doesn't start up any kind of conversation.

We finally arrive at the falls, there are a couple of guys waiting as Amber parks her car. We get out, and I'm surprised to see one of the guys walk straight up to Katherine and kiss her.

I didn't even know she was dating anyone.

I glance at Caroline who pulls a face. "Who's that?" I ask curiously.

"That's Mason Lockwood." She explains with distaste.

"Lockwood?" I question because that family name keeps on creeping up in this town.

"Yep, he's Tyler's cousin. He's okay, I suppose, a bit of an ass but harmless." Caroline links her arm through mine. "I'll see you by the water, Kat." She calls over her shoulder before leading me along the small gravelled path.

I can hear the music and loud chatter and laughter in the distance. It must be coming up. I glance at Caroline whose eyes are trained firmly ahead of her.

"It really does suck about Stefan." The words come out and inwardly cringe. It sucks? Seriously? Is that the best I could do?

I should know the right words to say. I have dealt and lived through enough grief lately to understand what I should and shouldn't say.

"I know." Caroline replies quietly. "I just can't believe he's actually gone…I just…God, it's awful."

I nod slowly because boy do I understand that. One of the hardest parts of losing someone is realizing that you will literally never see them again. That's it, they're gone, just like that.

"He was such a nice boy." Caroline continues. "He didn't put himself out there much but when he did…" she trails off with a sad smile and I slowly return it.

"I wonder how Damon is doing." The question comes aloud because I'm still dying to know. Considering he's her ex-boyfriend, Katherine doesn't seem to know anything, or care, to be honest.

Not that she would tell me anyway.

"God those poor twins." Caroline muses aloud. "They're so young."

I nod silently, an aching feeling in my chest just as we reach the clearing. The Falls is packed full of teenagers, some our already in the lake while overs hover around it, drinking, laughing, smiling.

They all look like they are having the best time ever and it only makes me more angry.

This isn't fair.

* * *

I lean back against Bonnie's Dad's car as I watch Damon continue to change the tire of his bike. His eyes are focused, his face frozen into a frown.

"There's a party at The Falls tonight, you should come." Damon continues twisting the screw to tighten the wheel.

"I'm busy." Damon responds bluntly without looking up at me.

"Doing what? Mrs Steven's is watching the twins tonight, you should make use of your free time. It'll be good for you to see your friends, take your mind off things."

I see Bonnie watching us from the corner of my eye but I keep my attention focussed on Damon.

"No." Damon replies gruffly. "I'm not really interested in partying right now."

I sigh loudly. "Damon, you haven't left this damn trailer park since the funeral."

He shakes his head. "I take the twins to and from school every day. That's leaving."

I know that he's lying. I've seen Mrs Steven's with the twins every morning and every afternoon. Thank God for her, because I don't know what would be happening right now if she wasn't around to look after them.

Damon clearly isn't in the right frame of mind right now.

"Enzo," Bonnie calls out to me with a sympathetic smile. She motions with her head for me to get in the car. "Come on, he doesn't want to come."

Damon stays silent, he still hasn't looked at me. I sigh loudly. "Fine." I give in reluctantly. "But tomorrow we're hanging out, okay? I'll even play basketball with you, and you know how much I hate sports."

Damon doesn't respond and I close my eyes for a second and take a deep breath. "See you later then." I turn around and climb into the old rusty car.

Bonnie sends me a sympathetic smile as we drive away.

"He just needs time."

"I know." I nod in agreement. I just hate that I can't help him.

The only person who would be able to snap Damon out of this is the reason why he is like this in the first place.

* * *

"Hey, I got you a drink." Matt passes me a plastic red cup as we sit on a large rock. Caroline and Tyler are bickering about something beside us but I tune them out.

"Thank you." I take it from him and take a small sip. I cringe at the taste of stale beer but I drink it anyway.

"Are you okay?" Matt asks me, a concerned look on his face. "You're very quiet tonight."

I force a smile. "Sorry, I'm fine. It's just been a long week. I'm glad it's finally the weekend."

He nods slowly. "Did you know Stefan?"

I shake my head. "No, not really. It's just…what happened brings back some bad memories that's all."

"About your family?" Matt questions me gently and my head shoots up to look at him surprised. "Sorry..." he cringes slightly. "Caroline told me."

I glance over at my blonde friend who is too busy arguing with Tyler to notice our conversation. "It's okay," I turn back to face him. "It's not exactly a secret."

"You never talk about them."

"It's easier not too."

Matt nods. "I can't say that I understand it. I don't know what I would do if I lost my Mom and Vicki."

I don't say anything because really what is there to say? I don't exactly want to go into details over the loss of my family at a high school party in the middle of the woods. Luckily for me, Caroline interrupts the moment.

"Bonnie! Over here!" Caroline waves her hand in the air as she stands up on the rock. I see Bonnie in the distance as she glances over, Enzo by her side. "Hey stranger, where have you been hiding?"

"Sorry, I've been around." Bonnie forces a smile but I can tell immediately that it's fake. She glances at Enzo who seems completely uninterested.

"Do you guys want a drink?" Matt offers.

Bonnie shakes her head, lifting up her car keys. Enzo doesn't reply, instead he turns and walks away into the crowd without looking back.

Bonnie stiffens but doesn't follow him.

"Is everything okay?" Caroline asks gently.

Bonnie shrugs and Tyler helps her climb onto the rock to join us. She makes herself more comfortable before continuing.

"He's just upset about Stefan." She explains and all three of them nod their head in understanding. "And he's worried about Damon, I think he's just frustrated with himself that he can't help more."

"Is Damon okay?" I ask quickly.

Bonnie lets out a small scoff and shakes her head sadly. "No."

My stomach flutters and not in the good way. I bite on my bottom lip as Matt goes on to say how they are dedicating the first home football game of the season to Stefan.

The rest of the evening goes by uneventful. I don't have another drink after my first beer, mainly because I want to keep a clear head.

I've lost Caroline and Tyler and Bonnie left to go find Enzo leaving me alone with Matt. He's a nice guy, and for the most part, he takes my mind away from things I shouldn't be thinking about.

However when someone from the football team waves him over to play a drinking game, I decline his offer to join.

Instead I start walking. It takes me a while and I think I got lost for a small while but I soon make it out of the woods into the clearing. I see Amber's car parked on the outskirts and I let out a dry laugh when I see the windows steamed up.

She must have found someone to have some fun with.

I keep on walking, having a pretty good idea of which direction will lead me back to town. The party was fun, but I'm just not in the mood. I send a quick text to Caroline to let her know that I've gone home before turning my phone off and slipping it back into my pocket.

I don't realize until I get here but I find myself in the old abandoned basketball court where I found Damon that night.

That night which feels like so long ago now.

I can't help but feel disappointed to see that Damon isn't here and I'm alone. I take a seat on the picnic bench and look out in front of me. It's so quiet, I can see why Damon likes to come here.

The street light flickers and I can hear crickets but apart from that there is nothing here. It really is abandoned.

I sit here for a while, letting my thoughts run back to _that_ night I lost everything. I daydream of what would have happened if I left my friends just five minutes earlier.

I wouldn't have to feel this way. I would be gone. I would be with my family.

I wipe my eyes and shake my head from those kind of thoughts. I look up and jump when I see a figure watching me from the other side of the court.

I slowly rise to my feet, my heart pounding hard against my chest. However I let out a relieved breath when the figure steps forward, pulling down his hood and I see that it's Damon. My heart starts to speed up for an entirely different reason.

"You scared me."

My voice carries across the silent court as Damon slowly approaches me.

"Sorry." He replies, his voice is rough.

I stay silent, I am dying to ask him how he is but I know how tedious that question is. Of course he's not okay, he'll probably never be okay.

"I've been thinking about you." The words escape my lips before I can think too much into it. "A lot."

Damon doesn't reply, instead he climbs onto the picnic table and sits beside me. His eyes are glued to the old rusty basketball net in front of us.

"How do you do it?" He asks me instead.

"Do what?" I ask softly.

"Pretend that everything is okay."

I bite nervously on my bottom lip and look down at my feet in front of me. "Sometimes it's easier to pretend than let yourself be how you really feel." It's probably the most honest thing I have said since that night. "Nobody said it would be so hard." I continue. "Death, that is."

Damon chuckles but it's cold, bitter. I swallow hard. "I can't accept it." His voice is angry. "I can't accept that I'm never going to see him again." I nod slowly and my eyes are burning with tears but I don't let them fall. "It feels like a sick joke."

"I get that."

"I didn't even cry at his funeral." He lets out another dry laugh. "How sick is that? He's not just my brother but he's my twin, my best friend, and I didn't even cry saying goodbye."

I stay silent, instead my hand reaches out and lands on his. Damon's body jerks at the contact and for a second I think he's going to pull his hand away but instead he turns it around and grips mine back tightly.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." Damon tells me, finally turning his head to look at me. I hold back a gasp at his intense blue eyes which bore into my own.

"That's okay." I squeeze his hand again. "We don't have to talk. We can just sit here."

He nods slowly and looks back out at the court in front of him.

"I'd like that."

* * *

 **Hey** **guys, thanks for reading! Please don't be shy and drop me a review, I love reading your thoughts and opinions! :)**

 **I'll be back in about a week with the next chapter, and there will be plenty of DE in that one!**

 **Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

 **Hey guys, a big thank you to everyone who has made it this far! I really do appreciate it. I just wanted to give a little heads up before this chapter to say that this isn't necessarily going to be a typical 'romantic' story, at least not right now. This version of Damon and especially Elena are slightly different to my other stories so I hope you like this one…**

* * *

"Elena, hold on a second, sweetheart." I stop at the front door as Isobel quickly approaches me. I look at her questioningly and force a polite smile. "We'd like it if you came home straight from school today."

My fake smile falls and is instead replaced with a frown. "Why?"

"John and I have been talking and we are both worried about you." Her voice is soft and gentle but it still rubs me up the wrong way.

"I'm fine."

"But you're not fine, sweetheart. You've lost your parents and your brother tragically-"

"I know that." I cut her off harshly.

"You never talk about it." Her face is full of sympathy, pity. "It's not healthy to keep your feelings bottled up like this. We want you to talk to someone…anyone, really. It doesn't have to be us, it could be a teacher at school or if you want we could look into grief counselling."

"I'm not going to a shrink." I cut her off again, my voice even harsher. "I'm fine, okay? I'm handling this in my own way. I don't need your help."

I see Isobel give in. She nods her head slowly and I turn to leave again. "Just know that I'm here for you, you're not alone."

I don't answer her, instead I walk out and let the door slam shut behind me.

The walk to school feels longer than usual. I ignore Isobel's words. I'm fine, just because I'm not dealing with this in the way that she wants me too doesn't mean that I'm not dealing.

It's easier this way.

It's the only way I can get through it.

When I arrive at school the place is buzzing. The cheerleaders are wearing their uniform and I don't know why. As far as I knew football and basketball games were played on Friday's. Today is only Wednesday.

"What's going on?" I question Bonnie when I find her sitting alone in the quad.

"It's the first home game of the football season on Friday. They are having a pep rally this afternoon. Did Caroline not tell you?"

"No." I reply while looking around. It's then that I see Matt in the distance with some of his friends, they are all wearing their football jerseys. Some of them are smiling while others are looking glum and it doesn't take a genius to work out why.

"I suppose she's been distracted lately. Anyway, I'd recommend buying a ticket. It's only $5 and it'll get you out of last period, and that alone is worth it." Bonnie smiles and I let out a small laugh in agreement, making the decision right here to attend.

In the back of my mind I hear Isobel's voice telling me to come home straight from school but surely this is a good enough reason not too? Besides, Katherine is on the cheer squad, I'm just supporting my family…

"Elena!" Matt jogs towards us with a smile. "Are you coming to the pep rally later?"

I nod and stretch a smile. "Of course, Bonnie just persuaded me."

"You're going too?" Matt asks surprised and also a little amused. "I thought you hated those things."

"I have Math last period." Bonnie explains with a shrug. "I know where even I would rather be."

"Great," Matt beams at me before someone from the team calls his name. "Sorry I can't stick around, I have a meeting with the team. I'll see you in class?" He is looking directly at me.

"Sure." I nod simply and Matt grins before jogging away.

"The boy likes you, a lot." Bonnie tells me with a grin and I roll my eyes.

"We're just friends."

"Sure, sure." Bonnie nudges me in the side. "He's cute, and nice. That's rare to find around here."

"You seemed to have found it okay." I nudge her back, trying to take the attention away from myself.

"I wouldn't use the word _cute_ to describe Enzo," she smiles but it slowly fades. "Or the word nice these days either."

"Are you two okay?"

"We will be." At least Bonnie sounds confident. "He's just difficult to be around right now. He's stressed."

I nod slowly, I think back to Friday night when I saw Damon again. We stayed sitting in silent for another hour before my phone started ringing. It was Katherine, demanding to know where I was because if she went home without me her parents would kill her.

So reluctantly I had to leave, Damon barely said goodbye which was a bit of a punch to the gut but I understood.

I haven't seen him since. I even went back on Sunday but the place was deserted.

He hasn't come back to school either.

* * *

"Damon!"

I freeze and close my eyes. "Fuck." I whisper under my breath before slowly turning around. I see Mrs Potter, Luke and Emma's teacher, heading towards me. This is why I've been wanting to avoid this place. Luckily Mrs Steven's has been more than happy to help, but today she had a doctors appointment so I didn't have a choice but to come.

"Hi." I force a polite smile. "Is everything okay?"

"Funny," she smiles kindly at me. "I was just coming to ask you the same thing." I stay silent and her smile falters for a second. "Your brother was a kind boy, he'll be missed."

I nod but again I don't say anything. "I was hoping maybe to catch your Dad, you know I haven't actually met him yet. He didn't come to the last PTA meeting."

I stand completely still. "He's working." I lie bluntly. "Besides, he's not exactly having the easiest time of it lately. I'm trying my best to help out with the twins, so if you need to speak to him, you can speak to me instead."

"I appreciate that, Damon, I do." Her voice is gentle, almost like she is talking to me how she would talk to the rest of her class full of six year olds. "But I would prefer to talk to your father."

I clench my jaw tightly. "Well, he's not here so…"

"Do you think maybe you could ask him to call me? I'd just like to discuss the twins with him."

"Why?" My voice is a lot harsher than I intended. "Is everything okay with Luke and Emma?"

"They're okay. I'm just a little worried about Lucas, he's been fighting with another boy in our class a lot lately." She explains cautiously.

"Okay, I'll talk to him about it."

She nods, seemingly accepting it but not before speaking up again. "Thank you, Damon, that would help. I know they are both going through a very difficult time right now, you all are. I'm not trying to interfere, I just want to help."

"I know." I answer. "Thank you."

We fall into an awkward silence and the sound of the bell ringing in the background saves me. "Will I see you after school?"

No.

"Yes. Have a nice day." I turn and walk away before she can say anything else. I spend the whole walk home trying to figure out a way to keep my Dad sober enough to make this damn phone call, it's the only way I can think of that will get the school off our back.

When I arrive back towards my trailer I groan loudly when I see Coach Saltzman sitting on the steps outside my door.

"I've had enough lectures off teachers already this morning so you can save your breath." I stand by my gate and hold it open for him.

Mr Saltzman lets out a chuckle. "I'm not here to lecture you."

"No?"

"No." He confirms. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to play some ball with me?"

I frown suspiciously. "What is this?"

He shrugs. "I have a free period. You've missed some practices lately, understandably of course, so I just figured maybe you would want to run through some drills?"

"No thanks." I answer bluntly. "And just like that girlfriend of yours, you're not welcome here."

"Ouch," Mr Saltzman presses his hand against his chest. "Way to make a guy feel good about himself."

I roll my eyes, thanking God he didn't come on a day where my Dad is lying passed out on the lawn.

"I'm not ready to go back to school."

I don't think I ever will be.

"I'm not here to push you on that. The principle understands your situation, she's willing to give you a little bit longer."

"Okay…so why are you here? The season hasn't even started yet. You don't need me right now. Besides, you have Mason anyway."

"We're a team, Damon. The team needs you." He stands up, his face far more serious. "I think it will be good for you to start coming to practice. That doesn't mean you have to come back to school, but it'll be good for you to ease your way back into things."

"I'm not interested, sorry. In fact, I quit. How's that for you?"

His eyes widen in shock. "You can't quit."

"Just did, sorry." I brush past him, intending to head inside but he grabs my arm. I pull out of his grasp harshly and look up at him with a glare.

"Damon, I'm not accepting that. Come back to school, get a little normality back in your life and if you still want to quit then okay…I won't be happy about it but I'll accept it."

I ignore him and start to head back inside, unlocking and opening the front door. I'm about to step inside when he calls after me again.

"Stefan wouldn't want you to quit, Damon." He shouts after me. I freeze. My body tensing with anger.

"Stefan isn't here." I slam the door shut behind me with a loud thud, so hard that the walls of the trailer shake.

I open the fridge and pull out one of my Dad's beers, cracking it open and taking a long swig.

* * *

I end up stealing one of my Dad's bottles of whiskey and hop on my bike. I drop by Mrs Steven's trailer to make sure she can pick up the twins from school before I head out.

I just want to forget.

I head to my usual spot by the old basketball courts and sit down on the ground with my legs crossed in front of me. I unscrew the bottle and take a long sip. I cringe at the taste, it's strong, bitter almost but I ignore it and take another drink.

I keep drinking and I feel my body slowly start to relax for the first time in what feels like forever.

My chest eases and the knot in my stomach finally loosens. I close my eyes and lie completely still.

I wonder what it would be like to die. I wonder if it's like in the movies when your life literally flashes before your eyes and you walk into a white bright light.

I think about Stefan, from what the police said, he died on impact from the crash. I wonder if he felt it. I wonder if he knew what was happening or if it happened that quickly that he was just gone suddenly in a flash.

One second he's out delivering a pizza, the next he is lying with a cracked head and a broken neck on the cold concrete floor.

I don't know how long I lie still for, but the air gets colder and when I open my eyes I see that it's almost dark.

I realize there was a reason why I was awoken from my slumber and I sit up slightly to see none other than Elena Gilbert approaching me with a curious look on her face.

"Are you trying to steal my spot from me?" My voice is light and it sounds unfamiliar.

It must be the whiskey.

"What are you doing?" Elena asks me curiously while completely ignoring my question.

I shrug, sitting up properly and grabbing the bottle of whiskey and holding it in front of me. "Drinking."

"Is that such a good idea?" She bends down and sits beside me. I shrug and take another swig before handing it over to her. "No thanks."

"Why? Trust me, it'll make you feel better."

"Maybe I don't want to feel better." She replies but her words contradict her actions. She reaches her arm arm out and takes the bottle from my hands. I watch her carefully as she wraps her soft lips around the bottle and I can't stop myself from licking my own.

She takes a large swig and then almost chokes to death.

No pun intended.

I chuckle and gently take the bottle from her. "You'll get used to it." I whisper into her ear and I swear she shivers. "What are you doing here anyway? Again?"

To my surprise she snatches the bottle back from my hands and takes another swig. She grimaces but this time she doesn't cough.

"My Aunt wants me to see a shrink."

I can't help but laugh. That is _so_ Isobel. "And what do you think?"

"I think it'll be a waste of my time." Elena replies bluntly. "I don't want to talk to a stranger about my feelings."

"Tell me about it," I think back to the brief visit from Mr Saltzman and that makes me take the bottle of whiskey back from Elena. I take a long chug before handing it back.

"I like the way it burns my throat." Elena whispers, her eyes glued on mine. I stare back, wondering how she can be so damn beautiful. She takes another swig, her eyes never leaving mine.

Seriously, it's almost inhuman how gorgeous she is and I don't even think she realizes it.

"My old teacher made me see a shrink when my Mom died." I explain and Elena practically chokes again.

"Your Mom's dead too?" The words jump out of her mouth and I smirk amused at the look of shock on her face from her own words. "Shit sorry, that didn't mean to come out like that. I just…sorry…I didn't know…"

"It's okay." I offer her a smile, my body buzzed from the whiskey. "It was a long time ago. I was just a kid, I didn't really understand what death was back then."

"What about the twins?" She asks curiously. "How are they?"

"Upset, angry, confused. They want to know why they can't see Stefan again, despite him being in _heaven_." I can't help but scoff. It's so damn hard to explain to six year olds that their brother is dead.

It's the hardest thing.

"And your Dad?" Elena asks curiously. "He must be going through it rough too. Losing a child…"

I shrug and take another swig from the bottle. "He's coping." The lie slips from my lips as usual. "I don't really want to talk about my family anymore." I tell her bluntly and Elena nods her head in understanding. "How come you're not at the pep rally?"

Elena looks at me surprised. "You know about that?"

"Enzo keeps me updated, not that I want him too." I roll my eyes slightly and pass the bottle back to Elena.

"I bought a ticket to get me out of last period but there was only so much of school cheer I could take." She smirks slightly and takes a swig. "Plus, seeing hundreds of people swoon over Katherine isn't exactly my idea of fun."

"I'll drink to that." I chuckle and take the drink back from her.

Elena's right, I enjoy the way the liquid burns my throat.

* * *

I'm drunk.

I don't know when it hit me but suddenly the ground is spinning beneath me. A laugh falls from my lips, I like the feeling of it. I like the feeling of being out of control.

My phone rings again for what feels like the millionth time from my pocket and I hear Damon groan beside me. We have moved from the basketball court to go and lie on the grass underneath the bleachers.

It was for privacy, not that many people come here, but there was one kid about eleven years old who walked by looking at us nervously.

I can see why two teenagers sitting in the middle of a basketball court with a bottle of whiskey between them might have been intimidating to him.

So, to not draw any more attention, we moved back here out of sight. It's dark underneath the bleachers, the street light shines between the gaps but it's not enough to really see.

I like it.

The bottle of whiskey is long gone but the effects are still strong.

"Turn that damn thing off." Damon rolls onto his side, his body towering over mine.

"You turn it off." I order him, my words are slightly slurred but I quickly stiffen when Damon smirks and his fingers trail up my thigh before sliding into my front pocket.

He pulls out my phone and I feel like I can breathe again. "Twelve missed calls, someone's in trouble." He smirks at me and I roll my eyes.

"Who cares. Turn it off."

"Gladly." Damon does as he's told before dropping the phone on the grass beside him. He looks down at me, his eyes blue and intense and I hold my breath again. My body stiffens as he raises his hand and pushes some hair out of my face. "Relax." He whispers as he stares me down. "You're so tense."

"You make me feel on edge." The words escape my drunken lips, knowing I would never tell him this if I was sober. "You have done from the moment I met you in Katherine's bathroom." I lick my lips as I remember him standing there half naked with a smirk on his face.

"I need to see you in those PJs again." His voice is low as his eyes dart down my body before slowly looking back up. "Or without them would be good too." I feel his body leaning closer into mine and my heart is pounding fast against my chest.

"Kiss me."

Damon doesn't hesitate. Before I know it he's on top of me, his mouth on mine hungrily. I've never been kissed like this before. I've never been touched like this before either.

His hands greedily roam my body, his fingers rough and I moan into his mouth as one of his hands slide underneath my waist to squeeze my ass.

Before I know it, my shirt has been removed and when I look up Damon is staring down at me intensely. I pant breathlessly before reaching my arms up and wrapping them around his neck, pulling his mouth back against mine.

I lift my hips, my centre thrusting into his groin area and he groans into my mouth, his tongue battling against mine. My hands slide down his back, underneath his shirt so nails scratch his skin.

His hands are all over me, all at once. It feels like heaven.

I don't want this to stop.

I pull Damon's shirt above his head, momentarily breaking the kiss. His eyes are intense and my chest is rising up and down heavily.

"Elena…" the way he says my name sends a shiver down my spine. He swallows hard as he looks down at my chest, his eyes glued to my bra filled breasts. I don't even feel the cold, but apparently my nipples do because they tight against the material of my bra. Damon's cold hands come down and land on each one, massaging them slowly.

One of his hands slowly leaves and trails down my stomach, my body shudders as it gets lower and lower and my eyes flutter closed as he slowly, purposely, unzips my jeans.

He lifts up my hips before slowly tugging them down to my ankles and crawling back up my body. I kiss him again, already missing the feeling of his lips against mine and I gasp, biting his bottom lip as his hand slides inside my panties.

"Oh god," I pull back as he roughly inserts a finger inside of me.

"You're so wet." Damon gasps into my ear before pressing his lips against my neck. He bites on my skin hard, and I know that it's going to leave a mark but I don't push him away.

He starts to move his finger in and out and my eyes clench shut in bliss. However my eyes flutter open when his hand stops.

He looks down at me, breathless and I look up at him confused.

"Have you ever…?"

My eyes widen at his words and my cheeks flush ten shades of red. He slowly pulls his finger out and I grab his wrist stopping him.

"I want this."

"Elena…" he looks around to where we are. Lying on the grass underneath some old rusty bleachers on a cold night in October isn't exactly how I planned to lose my virginity, but there is no way in hell that I am stopping this.

For the first time in months I feel alive and I don't want it to end.

"Damon…I want this. I want you." To prove my point I slip my hand into his jeans and Damon groans loudly in pleasure.

Feeling a new sense of confidence, I unzip his jeans and push them down, they only fall to his thighs but it's enough. His tight boxers are next and for a second I feel a moment of fear when I see his large erection ready to slide inside of me.

It's so…big.

"Are you sure?" Damon peppers kisses along my chest, pushing up my bra to wrap his lips around my breast.

"Yes." I wheeze out. Damon pulls back for a second and I see him pull out a condom from his pocket. Thank God he remembered because I certainly didn't.

I lick my lips, my stomach in a knot as I watch him slowly slide it over his hard erection. He stares down at me before kissing me again.

I'm wet and ready for him and Damon doesn't disappoint. I gasp in pain as he slowly enters me. My eyes squeeze shut tightly as he pauses. I swallow hard and slowly open my eyes to see Damon staring at me intently.

I nod silently and he begins to move. He begins to move faster inside of me, his hips swinging into mine and I gasp in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

I have never felt anything like this before in my entire life.

My body is dripping with sweat and I grab onto the grass beside me, tearing some of it from the mud between my fingers.

"Oh god," the words escape my lips involuntarily as Damon continues to thrust inside of me. "Faster. Oh god."

"Fuck," Damon groans into my ear, teeth grazing against my skin and I grab his head and bring his lips back against mine.

I feel the bottom of my stomach tightening. I know what's coming, and apparently so does Damon because his thrusts get faster and faster.

I forget that we are outside and anyone could walk by, and I scream his name loudly as I reach my climax and my orgasm hits me hard.

Damon isn't far behind me, he pumps into me once, twice, three more times before he comes. His heavy body slumps on top of mine and I feel like the entire earth is spinning.

Damon presses a sloppy kiss to my cheek before rolling off me. He pulls up his underwear but leaves his jeans as he pants breathlessly beside me.

"Elena Gilbert…you are a lot naughtier than I thought."

I don't know if that's a compliment or not but right now I don't really care as my body continues to come down from it's high.

I'm exhausted, and my eyes are closing slowly. I open them surprised when I feel Damon's hands on me again but I realize it's only to readjust my bra to the correct position. I close my eyes again contentedly when I feel him slide my jeans back up my legs and he slowly lifts me up to slide my shirt over my head.

"Thank you," I whisper out tiredly into the darkness.

Damon chuckles beside me and opens out his arm, I use what little energy I have left and shuffle against him. My body shivers but I'm not sure if it's from his touch or the cold night air.

Either way, I fall asleep with my head resting against his chest and for the first time since I lost my family I drift off with a smile on my face.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts, thank you to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter and hello to some new readers! :)**

 **Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries**

 **Hey guys, sorry for the slight delay with this chapter! Hope you enjoy it and big big thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter! I really appreciate it!**

* * *

As soon as I see the cop car parked on the edge of the driveway I know that I'm in serious trouble.

My head hurts, and my stomach is squeamish and all I want to do is go straight to bed but I know that's not going to be possible. I run my fingers through my messy hair and make a slow walk up the long pathway that leads to their front door.

I unlock it and slowly creep inside. Before I can even close the door Isobel rushes into the hallway and her shoulders deflate in relief when she sees me.

"Elena!" Her arms are wrapped around me tightly. "Thank God!" I reluctantly hug her back but quickly pull away. Her eyes are red and heavy, she looks tired and I immediately feel guilty for causing this.

I wasn't supposed to be gone all night but obviously things escalated a lot further than originally excepted when I turned up at the old courts and found Damon sitting alone nursing a bottle of whiskey.

"Where the hell have you been? We have been so worried! Why didn't you answer your phone when we called? Are you okay? Did something happen?" She asks me a billion questions in one and I look over her shoulder to see a lady in uniform watching us.

"I'm fine." I take a step back. "I'm sorry I…I just…I lost track of time and…I'm sorry." I glance at the police officer and she must sense my nerves because she slowly approaches us.

"I'm just glad you're home safe, Elena." She smiles gently at me and I can't help but wonder why she looks so familiar.

"Thank you Sheriff Forbes, we are really sorry to waste your time like this." John appears out of nowhere and his eyes are cold and angry. I tense immediately.

Sheriff Forbes – crap, that's Caroline's Mom.

"It's okay John, I'm just happy she's home safe." She presses her hand against my arm before smiling at Isobel. "I'll see you at book club on Tuesday?" Isobel nods silently and the Sheriff excuses herself and leaves the house.

The silence that is left is brimming with tension.

"Where the hell have you been?" John speaks up first, his voice is cold and harsh and I jump, startled by his tone.

"John…" Isobel tries to calm him down but he doesn't listen.

"Do you have any idea how many people we have out looking for you? Katherine told us she last saw you at the pep rally but some people went to a party at The Falls afterwards, we were terrified in case you were one of them and had fallen in the water and drowned!" His voice rises with every word and I cringe guiltily.

In hindsight, maybe even a text to Katherine might have been better than nothing at all.

"I'm sorry…I just…I went for a walk and I sat down and I must have fell asleep because when I woke up it was daylight and my battery was dead on my phone…" the lie falls out of my lips a lot easier than I thought it would. Isobel looks at me sympathetically but John still looks furious. "I didn't mean for it to happen." It's a terrible excuse, it's almost laughable, but one of the perks of being an orphan means sometimes people will just accept what you say with no other explanation.

Isobel nods in understanding, her hand reaching out to rub my arm soothingly.

"Well you're grounded." John interrupts her actions and orders me sternly. My jaw drops.

"John…"

"No Isobel, she is living under our house now and she has to live under our rules."

I want to argue that their own daughter isn't exactly perfect. I want to argue that she sneaks out of the house all of the time, that she even sneaks boys into her bedroom. However as tempting as that may be, I know it will cause a lot more trouble than necessary, plus the last thing I want to do right now is piss off Katherine even more.

Especially if she finds out I just slept with her ex-boyfriend.

"Go to your room, Elena." John sighs and shakes his head somewhat tiredly. I want to argue with him that I'm not a child and he should stop treating me like one.

He is not my father.

However I am exhausted, and I am not going to stay down here for another second longer than necessary.

Katherine's door is shut when I walk up the stairs, thank god, because the last thing I want to do is run into her right now.

I quickly change out of my clothes, closing my curtains to block out as much sunlight as possible before crashing onto my bed.

I pull the quilt over me and take a deep breath before it finally sinks in.

I just had sex with Damon Salvatore.

* * *

I take a deep breath as I stand outside of the staff entrance. I finish my cigarette before throwing it down on to the floor and stubbing it out. I check my watch, I'm five minutes late even though I've been standing out here for ten.

I know the second I walk in there I am going to met with pity stares and I don't know if I can handle it.

I didn't want to come back, but money is tight, especially since we had to cover the costs for Stefan's funeral. My Dad isn't going to get a job anytime soon so someone has to bring some money in.

I take another deep breath and push the door open stepping inside. Mary spots me straight away, her lips twisting into a sad smile as she approaches me.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you?" She wraps her arms around me in a hug which I awkwardly return.

I will myself to be polite. This is the same woman who was friends with my Mom, the same woman who sneaks the twins free meals and ice cream whenever she can.

"I'm fine, thank you." My voice comes out a lot more politer than even I expected.

"How is your father doing? I have been meaning to drop by to see him."

I tense. "He's coping." I nod slowly. "There's no need for that, but thank you anyway. I will tell him you said hello." I push past her before she can say anything else. I grab my apron and wrap it around my waist.

I walk out of the kitchen door and my manager looks surprised to see me. I nod at him in greeting, hoping to walk past him but he side steps in front of me.

"Damon," he clears his throat. "Good to see you back, son."

I nod silently and he pats my shoulder briefly before letting me go. I make my way to my section and start clearing plates from an empty table. I keep my head low and my eyes down.

I notice a few people from school darted around the restaurant but I manage to avoid them. I can hear the odd whispers and see them staring but I block them out.

That is until Elena Gilbert walks through the door and I freeze.

I haven't seen her since _that_ night a week ago.

I've gone back to the park to see if she would show up but she never did. I swallow and quickly head into the kitchen on the ruse to check if there are any meals ready to take out.

I just pray that when I eventually have to leave that Elena isn't sitting in my section.

After hiding out for far too long, one of the kitchen staff hands me two plates to serve. I take them without argument and don't look anywhere else other than my destination.

When I turn around I almost jump when I see Elena standing beside me. "Hi," she smiles but I can tell that she's nervous.

"Hi," I brush past her and start to wipe down the table beside her. I need a distraction.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here…"

"So you have been avoiding me then?" I look up for a second and her eyes widen shocked.

"No. No…I haven't." She shakes her head. "I got grounded for staying out all night." She explains and I slowly lean up, the table long forgotten.

"Oh yeah? The Gilbert's grounded you?" I ask a little amused. "I find that ironic considering who their daughter is."

"Tell me about it." Elena mutters but then smiles. "Today's my first day out apart from school. I wasn't going to come but I'm glad that I did now."

I return her smile and my eyes unintentionally trail over her body, because now I know what is underneath those clothes and damn if that doesn't make her even more beautiful.

Elena must notice my staring because when my eyes trail back up to her face her cheeks are blushed.

"I finish at nine." I inform her. "Think you could sneak out?"

Her lips twitch. "Considering this is my first day ungrounded I don't think that would be wise."

I take a step closer to her. "For some reason, I don't think you will have a problem with breaking the rules a little bit."

"I guess you'll just have to wait until you finish your shift to find out, huh?" She smirks at me and my smile widens.

"Looks like it, huh?" I brush past her, my fingers gently trailing along her waist discreetly on my way and head back towards the kitchen.

I look over my shoulder to see Elena still watching me with a tiny smile on her face.

* * *

"Oh God," Elena shudders underneath me as I thrust in and out of her hard and fast. Her eyes are clenched tightly shut as she orgasms. Her fingernails scratch down my back, no doubt drawing blood, but I don't mind. She shakes beneath me, her body clutched to mine and then I'm coming too.

I crash into the crook of her neck, pressing a sloppy kiss against her skin. I pant breathlessly for a few moments before sliding out of her and rolling onto my back into the grass. It's colder tonight, a lot colder than the last time so we both get dressed quickly.

"You know, I would like to do this in a bed sometime soon." I smirk as Elena pulls her sweatshirt over her head. I lick my lips as she looks over her shoulder at me, her hair messy.

"Invite me over then." She winks at me and I smirk despite knowing that will never happen.

"Or I could sneak into your bedroom." I slide my sneakers onto my feet. "I've had plenty of practice climbing into windows in that house." I see Elena tense and I immediately regret my words. I cringe. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Elena replies but I know that it's not. She stands up, pulling up her jeans with her. "Are you still sleeping with her?"

My eyes widen and I gawk at her in disbelief. "No, of course not!"

She shrugs casually. "It would be okay if you were, we aren't exactly exclusive or anything." Her words surprise me.

"Well I'm not, even if we weren't…"I trail off because I'm not quite sure what _this_ is nor do I have the capacity to label it right now either. "You know, whatever, I can't stand Katherine. We're done – for good."

Elena nods, seemingly accepting my answer. "I should go."

"Do you not want to stay and hang out for a little bit?"

" I can't." She shakes her head. "If John and Isobel find out I'm not in my bedroom they will go crazy and I've only just been ungrounded."

I nod slowly. "Okay, fair enough. Do you want me to walk you home?"

She lets out a laugh and shakes her head. "No, it's okay, Damon. I'll manage." And with that she's gone.

I watch her go bemused – wondering for a moment if maybe I am her booty call?

* * *

"Where have you been?"

"Jesus Christ!" I nearly fall back out of the window I just climbed into. Katherine is sitting on the edge of my bed, a suspicious look on her face. "What are you doing in here?" I ask her harshly as I close the window behind me.

"What were you doing _not_ in here?" She asks me again and I try to act as blasé as possible.

"Nothing. I was just hanging out with Bonnie."

"That's why you snuck out? To hang out with _Bonnie_."

"Yup."

"Who's the boy?" She asks again bluntly.

I force a laugh. "There is no boy."

"Right…do you know who you are talking to here?" Katherine stands up and approaches me but I hold my ground.

I will not be intimidated by her.

"Last week you stayed out all night, and don't think I didn't notice that hickey on your neck either." She tells me pointedly and I feel my cheeks redden. "Now tonight you're sneaking in hours after curfew. I know the signs, trust me. Who's the boy?"

"It's no one you know." I push past her and walk towards my closet, pulling out my PJs.

"I know everyone in this town."

"He's not from this town." I turn around. "It's my sort of ex, Liam, back from my old town."

Katherine's eyes widen surprised. "He's in Mystic Falls?"

"No." I shake my head. "I meet him halfway, in some motel he found."

"How do you get there? You don't have a car."

"I get the bus and he picks me up from the stop." I reply, surprised at how confident I sound. I am getting surprisingly good at this whole lying thing. "Don't tell your parents, okay?"

Katherine stares at me long and hard and I swear it feels like she is reading through my soul. However I stand my ground and hold her gaze, refusing to back down.

The alternative of her finding out I'm sleeping with Damon is so much worse.

"Okay." I try not let my relief show. She nods again, "Okay." She repeats before walking right out of my bedroom.

I let out a breath of relief and drop down onto the bed behind me. I blow some air onto my face.

I don't even know what is going on with Damon. I doubt he has any feelings for me. I know that he's just using me as a way to distract him from his brother's death and that's okay with me because I also need the distraction.

I just hope it doesn't end up blowing up in both of our faces.

* * *

"Damon, can you come over for a minute sweetheart?" I sigh and slowly make my way to Mrs Stevens who is sitting out on her small porch.

I force a fake smile which I know she sees straight through but she doesn't question it. "Hey, is everything okay? Are the twins okay?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She pats the wooden bench she is sitting on and I reluctantly take a seat beside her. "They miss their brother, Damon."

I tense. "Yeah well…there's nothing I can do about that."

She shakes her head and slowly takes my hand in hers. I freeze, but I don't pull away, nor do I hold hers back either. "I'm not just talking about Stefan."

I clench my jaw tightly. "I've been working a lot lately."

"Damon, I saw Mary from The Grill tonight and she told me you finished your shift hours ago. They need you to be around, Damon. They've already lost one brother, they can't lose you too."

"I'm not their father."

"No, you're not." She replies sternly. "But you're the best damn thing they have in their life right now and you are pushing them away."

"They are just kids."

"You know that means nothing. They need you. They miss you."

"I just…" I shake my head in annoyance. "Stefan used to look after them a lot…okay…he was better at it than I was."

"Damon," she lets out a small laugh. "You know that is not true. Stefan was amazing with them, we both know that, but we also both know that you are just as amazing with them too. I know it's difficult, I know you're grieving and you have every right to be struggling right now. He wasn't just your brother but he was your twin, you two were a team. He was part of you and now he's gone."

"I don't need you to tell me how I feel." I pull my hand out of her grasp harshly and stand up. "I appreciate your help," I turn to face her, ignoring the hurt look on her face. "I really do. The twins love you and you do so much for us and I can't thank you enough for that but I'm not six years old - I don't need you to look after me."

"Damon…"

"I'm going to bed because I'm exhausted. Don't worry about the twins tomorrow, I'll take them and pick them up from school." I don't turn to see her face, I don't think my conscious can take it so I head back into my trailer without looking back.

* * *

I walk through the woods hurriedly as I try for the billionth time to ring Enzo but he's not answering.

I received a text message to tell me to meet him at the spot we used to camp when we were younger in the middle of the woods. He told me it was an 'emergency' but nothing to worry about – whatever that means.

At first I was going to ignore it, but even I'm not that much of an asshole. Mrs Steven's has the twins tonight for a sleepover and I already worked the afternoon shift in The Grill so I'm actually available for once.

Whatever Enzo needs, it better be good!

I mutter in annoyance underneath my breath as I accidentally step into a pile of wet mud, the dirty water splashing against my jeans.

"Great," I grumble as I keep walking. If I remember correctly, I should be here any second.

That's when I hear the voices, and when I finally walk into the clearing after what feels like hours I find Enzo there waiting for me but he's not alone. He's joined by Klaus, Marcel and Kol, as well as two tents…

"What is this?"

"Glad you joined us, mate." Klaus speaks up first with his British drawl. "Took you long enough."

I frown confused and look at Enzo. "Let me guess, there is no emergency?"

He shrugs with a smirk and throws away the cigarette that was previously hanging between his lips. "I had to do something to get you out here." He motions behind him and that's when I see the many crates of beer. "We're camping. You're staying. We have lots of junk food, beer, cigarettes and even some pot. No excuses, I know the twins are being looked after and Kol sweet-talked Mary into telling him you weren't working tomorrow."

"I'm not in the mood for this, Enzo." I sigh loudly.

"Tough shit." He snaps back and I raise my eyebrow at him questionably. "You need your friends right now whether you want us or not. So stop whining like a little bitch and grab yourself a beer."

I stare at him for a moment, the rest of the boys stand tense but don't say anything. After a few more seconds I give in. Enzo smirks as I cross the small clearing and pick up a beer.

Klaus chuckles and taps his bottle against mine and winks. "Welcome back, brother."

* * *

"Here," Enzo passes me another beer as we sit on a log at the edge of the clearing. Kol is passed out in his tent and Marcel and Klaus are both completely stoned and attempting to play a card game.

I'm glad I stayed. Enzo was right, I did need this and being surrounded by my friends has made me feel a lot better.

"I think I'm going to go back to school on Monday." The words leave my lips and now I can't take it back. Enzo smiles and taps his bottle against mine.

"Good."

I'm not drunk, but I'm not exactly sober either and now is my only chance to get this off my chest.

"I've been sleeping with a girl who deserves to be more than a fuck-buddy but I think that's all we are." I blurt out and Enzo almost chokes on his drink.

" _What_?" He looks at me surprised.

I shrug and take a huge swig of my beer before continuing. "We've slept together twice. The first time we were both drunk, the second we were completely sober. Both times were…without sounding like a sappy girl, it was amazing. She is amazing." I stare down at my feet as I think about Elena.

She is beautiful.

"Okay…" Enzo looks at me bemused. "So what's the problem?"

"The problem is my brother just died. The problem is I don't have time for a girlfriend. The problem is she won't ever date me. The problem is I'm not good enough for her."

Enzo stays silent and I shake my head in annoyance.

"She deserves a lot more than to just be a quick fuck, you know?" I cringe slightly because as much as I enjoy having sex with Elena, and trust me, I really _really_ enjoy it, she deserves more than that. "I don't regret sleeping with her but I wish it wasn't so…" I shake my head and let out a dry laugh. "Jesus christ, this is not me talking right now."

"Maybe it is you." Enzo shrugs. "But you know, you're right. You have so much going on in your life right now, not just because of Stefan but everything else too. I'm sure whoever she is she's great but you don't need something else fucking around in that warped mind of yours right now."

I chuckle but nod my head in agreement.

"But I _am_ curious to know who has got you feeling like a thirteen year old girl." He elbows me in the ribs and I groan and shove him back.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay? Not even Bonnie." I warn him because the last thing I want is this getting out. Besides, Elena might have already told Bonnie but I don't want to test that theory out just in case.

"Scouts honour." He holds up his hand and I shake my head with a smile but tell him anyway.

"It's Elena Gilbert."

Enzo's face is a picture. His eyes widen and his jaw drops. "No way!"

"Yes way." I smirk.

"Wow dude, well done she is _hot_." He smirks and I glare back at him in response. "Calm down, I'm a one woman man you know that."

"So do you see my other dilemma?" I ask him with a cringe and it takes him a moment to realize.

"Shit." He sucks in a breath and looks at me sympathetically. "Katherine."

"Yep, the evil bitch is the bane of my existence yet again." I shake my head in disbelief.

"Well of course the one girl you actually start to have genuine feelings for happens to be related to your psycho, evil ex-girlfriend." He pats me on the back and shakes his head. A sarcastic laugh leaving both of our lips. "Good luck with that one."

"Thanks." I mutter somewhat bitterly.

It's the story of my damn life.

* * *

 **Thanks** **for reading guys! Hope you liked this one too! Don't forget to review and let me know your thoughts :)**

 **PS how great is it that Nina is coming back for the finale? Fingers crossed it means we get a happy DE ending!**

 **Thanks again!**

 **Until next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Any Other World**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

Going back to school was a lot harder than I even thought it would be. I was used to people looking at me; dating Katherine Gilbert and then _cheating_ on Katherine Gilbert ensured that I was often a main topic of discussion but what happened today when I walked through the quad and then through the halls was something on another level completely.

Everyone stared at me – and the majority of those curious stares were filled with sympathy and pity.

It's driving me crazy and it's not even lunch time yet. If it wasn't for the fact that my attendance record was so low to begin with I would have definitely ditched by now.

"Hey loser!" Klaus suddenly appears at one side while Marcel locks me in a brief headlock at the other. I groan and shove him away as they both laugh. "Practice has moved thirty minutes later tonight, Coach has a teachers meeting."

I glance at them both and it takes me a second to realize that Mr Saltzman didn't tell anyone I had quit the team. Which means he didn't accept my resignation…

"I won't be at practice tonight." I reply casually as I keep walking towards my next class.

"Why not?" Klaus asks curiously. "Do you have to work?"

"Nope."

"Then why?" Marcel pushes for an answer. "We have a game on Friday, we need you there to practice our plays."

"You have Mason."

I see them both roll their eyes. "You're better than Lockwood and you know it. Stop being a pussy and come to practice. We'll see you there, I'm not taking no for an answer, okay?" And with that Marcel is gone.

I turn to look at Klaus who shrugs. "You have to listen to your captain."

I glare at him. "Maybe he's not my captain anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe I quit the team."

His eyes widen and he side steps in front of me so we both stop. "Are you serious?" His voice is low. I shrug silently. "Salvatore, you can't just quit."

"Why not?"

"Because…" he looks at me like I've grown a second head. "It's basketball. We're a team and you are a big part of it." He looks around self consciously for a moment, aware of the looks I am getting from many different people who walk by us. "Look, I know you have a tonne of shit going on right now but you can't just quit. Stefan wouldn't want you to quit so don't do it. I'll see you at practice." He's gone before I can argue anymore.

"What the fuck are you staring at?" I bark at a group of freshman who are staring at me by their lockers. They all scatter away quickly and I groan when the bell rings realizing that I am at the other side of the school from where my next class is.

"Great, just great."

"Bad day?"

I freeze at the sound of Elena's soft voice, because I don't even have to turn around to know that it's her. She slowly walks around me so she is now standing by my feet, a soft smile on her face.

"Welcome back."

I force a smile. "Thanks. I'm already wondering if I made the right decision."

"You did. It gets easier, trust me." Her smile fades and I swallow hard at the look on her face.

I've asked her this question before but I need her to answer it again. "How do you do it? Go on every day like nothing is wrong."

Elena shrugs, her eyes are sad but there is a hint of emptiness and I'm kind of jealous. "You just keep pretending."

"But how?" I push her because I need to know how to make myself feel okay again. I need to stop feeling like part of me is _gone_.

"You plaster on a fake smile and go about your day like nothing ever happened. It makes it easier for yourself but it also makes it easier for everyone around you. Nobody wants to deal with the grieving teenager, not for longer than a few days anyway."

"Is that how you feel? That nobody wants to _deal_ with you?" I ask her curiously.

Again, she shrugs like we are having a simple conversation about what was on TV last night. "It's not about how _I_ feel, Damon, that's just how it is. Are you coming to class?"

I stare at her in awe for a moment before slowly nodding my head. "Yeah, I'm coming."

"Okay great, I'll see you there. It's probably a bad idea if we show up together, somebody will probably tell Katherine and neither of us need that kind of drama."

And with that she's gone and I'm left gawking after her like an idiot.

* * *

"Elena? Elena? Are you even listening to me?" I snap my head up and look at Bonnie who is sitting across the table at me at lunch.

"Sorry." I shake my head apologetically. "I spaced out. What were you saying?"

She sighs loudly and looks across the cafeteria where Enzo is sitting with some of his friends, I notice immediately that Damon isn't there and my mind almost wanders away again because of it but I remind myself to focus my attention on Bonnie.

"I just wanted to know if you think I'm being unreasonable. I mean…Enzo's friend just died. He's obviously going to be acting a little different, he's grieving but…" she runs her hand through her hair and I take a moment to watch her. She's tired. Her eyes are heavy and she isn't wearing any makeup.

"Are you okay Bon?"

"Me? Yes, I'll be fine once Enzo starts getting back to normal. Do you think I'm being too needy? I don't want to be selfish. Damon is his best friend so obviously he wants to be there for him but I just feel like he barely makes any time for me anymore. He's too busy spending his spare time with his friends."

"It's natural for people to gravitate towards their friends in grief." The words fly out my lips easily, but I regret saying them because I know that it's bullshit. When my family died I ignored all my friends, hell, I'm still ignoring them now.

I can't exactly say that to Bonnie because it's not going to make her feel any better.

"So you think it's normal?"

I follow her gaze to where Enzo is sitting with his friends, he's smiling and they are all laughing about something but even between them you can see that it's not one hundred percent genuine.

They are all grieving.

"Yes." I look back at Bonnie dead in the eye. "I wouldn't worry about it. It's completely normal."

"Okay," she lets out a loud breath of relief. "Okay. You're right." She shakes her head at herself and forces a smile. "Enough about my love life, what about yours? Are you and Matt dating?"

"What?" I look at her flabbergasted. "No. Who told you that?"

She shrugs with a smirk on her face. "I've heard a rumour."

I groan and put my head in my hands. "We are not dating." I tell her firmly.

"Why not? Would it be so bad to be the girl dating Matt Donovan, the football star?" Bonnie is grinning and part of me wants to blurt out that maybe I'm more interested in the basketball star but I can't risk what is or isn't happening with Damon to get back to Katherine.

"Matt is a great guy," I give in slightly but cringe when Bonnie's smile widens, " _But_ , he's not really what I want right now. I like him but only as a friend."

"Well damn, I would have totally shipped the two of you."

I laugh. "You sound like Caroline."

Bonnie immediately grimaces. "Okay, yeah, you're right. I'll stop now."

"Thank you." We both laugh and I glance back over to Enzo's table to see that Damon is still nowhere to be seen.

* * *

I knock on Miss Sommer's office door loudly. "Come in!" I hear her call out and I follow her instructions. I look at her questionably as I stand in her doorway. "Close the door and sit down, Damon." She offers me a kind and gentle smile.

I sigh and do as she says, slumping down onto the comfortable cushioned chair across her desk tiredly. It makes a nice change from the crappy plastic ones we have to sit on in class.

"You look tired." Miss Sommer's states simply and I glance at her cautiously.

"I've been having a little trouble sleeping lately." I give her half of the truth just to attempt to appease her, "but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." She watches me for a moment and I shift uncomfortably under her gaze. "What did you want to see me about?"

She leans forward on her desk. "I just wanted to check in and see how your first day back is going?"

I shrug casually. "It's fine…it's school."

She nods slowly and gives me a sad smile. "You know Damon, I'm not the bad guy here. Even if it wasn't my job to help you, I would still _want_ to help you because you're a good kid."I frown at her words but she keeps going. "You _can_ talk to me, about anything. It doesn't have to leave this room."

"I have nothing to talk about." I reply bluntly. "My brother died – life goes on." Miss Sommer's doesn't reply straight away and I go to take it as my cue to leave until she speaks up again.

"How's your Dad doing?"

I tense immediately. "He's fine."

"I tried calling him at home but it seems your phone is disconnected." She continues and I swallow nervously. The phone is disconnected because I didn't pay the damn bill from missing so much work lately.

"It's broke." I lie terribly and I can tell that she doesn't buy it. "We're getting a new one soon. It's not exactly at the top of our priorities right now."

"Does he have a mobile I could possibly contact him on?"

My jaw clenches angrily. "Why? Why do you want to speak to him so bad? Why can't you just mind your own damn business and leave us the hell alone!" I raise to my feet.

"Damon-" She stands up and holds out her hand.

"No!" I cut her off. "I don't need your help, okay. I'm fine. Everything is fine! Just leave me alone!" I storm out of her office before she can say anything to pull me back.

I wish she would just mind her own business! I don't need her help. I don't need anybodies help!

Instead of heading to my afternoon classes, I walk quickly outside and towards the bike rack. I unlock my chain off my bike and ride out of here as fast as I can.

* * *

When I get home my Dad is nowhere to be seen. I let out a defeated sigh as I look around the messy trailer, the place is a pigsty. I start to clean up a little bit, knowing that it'll probably get back to this way again anyway once my Dad comes home but I can't just ignore it because of the twins.

I'm about half way through when there is a knock on the door. I mutter under my breath, hoping that it's not a drunken neighbour or worse my Dad locked out and back to trash the place again.

I swing the door open and immediately tense when I see Miss Sommer's standing there with a small smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" I ask coldly and step outside, closing the door behind me.

"I was hoping to maybe bring you back to school?" She smiles lightly at me but I don't return it. "Do you think maybe we could talk inside? It's a little cold out here and I've left my jacket back at school."

I clench my jaw because immediately I want to say no, but she is right, it is cold out and I'm not that much of a dick to let her freeze.

"Fine," I give in reluctantly, thanking myself in my head for cleaning the trailer beforehand. She follows me in and I move some things out of the way self-consciously.

We don't really get any guests – none worth tidying up for anyway.

"Um, take a seat." I mutter awkwardly and point to our worn sofa. Miss Sommer's smiles politely and takes a seat in the small trailer. I clear my throat and lean back against the counter. "I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you at school earlier."

She smiles kindly. "It's okay, really."

I shake my head. "I was a dick. I know you're just trying to help but…" I sigh and look down at my feet.

"It can come across as pushy and intruding." She finishes for me with a smile and I look up at her surprised. "It's okay, Damon, I get it."

I nod silently. "So..."

"I have a proposal for you." I frown confused. "Mr Saltzman told me that you quit the team."

"That's right." I cross my arms in front of my chest defensively.

"I know how busy you are, I know you have a lot going on with working two jobs and looking after Lucas and Emma." She continues and I frown.

"I'm just doing my fair share." I reply defensively.

Jenna looks up at me and I almost shiver under her intense gaze. "Regardless," she continues, "I love kids, and that day I spent with the twins was great. So, I was wondering, why don't I look after the twins while you're at practice and during the games? I have to wait for Ric anyway and I attend every home game so I wouldn't mind them sitting with me. That way you don't have to worry about childcare so much."

I frown at her intentions and shake my head. "No. No it's okay, I can't let you do that."

"I want too, Damon."

"Why?" I ask confused. "Why me? You barely know me. You barely know the twins. I'm just one kid in a school full of hundreds of other students where you work. Why do you want to help?"

"I can't have kids of my own." She blurts out and my eyes widen surprised. She sends me a sad smile. "It's okay, I've accepted it, but sometimes I feel like I'm missing out, you know? So honestly, spending time with Lucas and Emma would be helping me too, not just you."

"They were on the their best behaviour when we had dinner at your house." I tell her seriously. "They normally aren't that easy to look after. They argue and fight, and sometimes they cry over the littlest of things. Lucas constantly wants to be doing something active and fun. Emma will sometimes go a single day only muttering two words to you. They aren't easy."

Jenna's smile widens. "I know, Damon. I think I'll be okay. I think it'll be fun."

I stay silent for a moment as I think about it. Mrs Steven's is getting older and I know that she is finding it harder to look after the twins so much as her health slowly deteriorates, not that she would ever admit to that herself.

Having someone else to watch the twins would be a huge help but it would also be a huge risk too. Jenna isn't from this neighbourhood, she doesn't know what it's like to live here and to grow up here. This is a completely different world to what she is used to and we live a completely different lifestyle.

Plus there is the major issue of my Dad. What if she gets too close and figures it out? She would have to report him to social services, and then I would lose the twins. I can't have that. I can't lose them, especially after already losing Stefan.

"It's just a couple of nights a week, Damon." Jenna interrupts my thought process. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Fine." I give in reluctantly, "but it won't be forever. We can just see how it goes. I won't need you all of the time either, our next door neighbour watches them from time to time and she enjoys it too. I wouldn't want to take them away from her either."

Jenna smiles softly at me. "Of course, Damon. You just let me know when you need me, okay? We'll figure this out."

I nod slowly, hoping that I haven't just made a huge mistake.

* * *

"Okay, are you ready to take the shot?" I hold Lucas in my arms closer to the net as he grips onto my basketball tightly between his small hands.

"Yes!"

"Raise your arms." I instruct him, and watch as he does. "Okay, ready – three, two, one, shoot!"

I watch and then cheer as the ball goes flying into the net. Lucas cheers and I put him back down onto his feet and high five him.

"Yes, well done!"

"Good shot!"

I swing around to see Elena walking towards us with a grin on her face. My smile widens even more when she holds out her hand for Lucas and he happily high fives her.

I tilt my head with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugs and bites on her bottom lip for a moment before answering. "I was in the neighbourhood?"

I chuckle and shake my head. "Right." I pick up the basketball and pass it to Lucas. "Practice your dribbling, I'll watch from over there." Lucas nods and follows my instructions.

I walk over towards the bleachers, Elena following me. "Where's Emma?" She asks curiously, noticing that I'm one child short.

"She's with Enzo, believe it or not." I smirk amused at the look on my best friends face when my little sister asked him if he would watch Cinderella with her.

Elena laughs and shakes her head. "I can't imagine it."

"Poor guy, Emma is probably going to have him covered in glitter by the end of the night." I continue and I barely even notice that this is the most genuine smile I have had all day. Elena's own laugh dies down as we both watch Lucas play in front of us.

"I didn't see you in History today." Elena speaks up breaking our comfortable silence.

I shrug. "I skipped out the afternoon. I had things to do."

"Will I see you back tomorrow?" She asks curiously.

"Probably."

Her smile widens. "That's good."

"Hey Elena," I turn slightly on the bench to face her and for a second I lose my train of thought because I can't get over how beautiful she is. "I really like being around you."

She bites on her bottom lip again and I swear it's one of my most favourite things. "I like being around you too, Damon."

"I want us to be friends." I continue and I try to find a way to say this without sounding like an asshole. "I…I know we have done…you know…things." She blushes but she doesn't look away. "And God was it good, like wow, you're beautiful and sexy and…" I trail off and cringe at myself for how embarrassing I am being, especially when Elena looks down at her feet embarrassed. "I love being around you." I take a deep breath. "But right now…"

"Damon," she cuts me off and I'm surprised when she takes my hand in hers. "It's okay, I get it."

I blink at her surprised. "You do?"

"Yes." She smiles at me and I immediately relax. "I want to be your friend too. I enjoy being around you and I don't want it to stop, especially when we are only just getting started."

My lips twitch into a smile. "So you don't think I'm a jerk?"

"No." She laughs and squeezes my hand. "I get it, okay? It's good, we're good. I'm happy to just be your friend."

I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Honestly I was worried in case Elena would take this the wrong way and believed that I was just blowing her off. I'm not blowing her off, but I have so much going on in my life right now and God knows what is going to happen next. It wouldn't be fair to Elena if we kept anything going like this, she deserves better than what I can give her right now.

But that doesn't mean that I don't want her in my life.

"I don't want to hide this." Elena blurts out and my eyes widen surprised. "I'm not ashamed to be friends with you, and I'm not going to pretend that I am just to keep up appearances."

"What about Katherine?" I ask her cautiously. "Trust me, Elena, you do not want to get on her bad side."

"We're just friends," she says to me like it's no big deal. "There's nothing else going on between us now. Katherine can't be too hard on me just because we're _friends_. Besides, she thinks I'm back with my ex anyway."

My eyes widen shocked. "Are you?"

Elena rolls her eyes. "No, of course not. I just said that as a cover. Look, don't worry about Katherine, it's not like I'm going to be inviting you around to the house for dinner or anything. I just don't want to hide whatever this is anymore."

"Okay," I smile slightly because she is certainly a lot braver than I am. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"I've been through worse." She reminds me pointedly and I smile sadly because it's true.

Elena has been through worse, she has been through a hell of a lot worse. I honestly don't know how she gets through the day but I can't help but admire her for it.

Hell, I can't help but admire her for a lot of things.

I watch her as she gets up to play ball with Lucas, she's not very good, in fact she's borderline terrible and it makes both Luke and I laugh numerous of times of how bad she is.

This evening ends up being the most fun I have had since Stefan died.

I didn't know it at the time, but this was the moment when Elena Gilbert started to change my life forever.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this one :)**

 **Big thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, you're all awesome!**

 **Until next time!**


End file.
